Lahutina S. Digitized psychocorrection and psychoprophylaxis of stress-related disorders among war victims in Ukraine.

Acute stress reaction is a mental condition that can occur in 6-33% of individuals after traumatic events (Mao & Agyapong, 2021; Anjum et al., 2023; Inoue et al., 2023). Typically, half of those who have experienced an acute stress reaction have symptoms resolution within the next three months (Maercker et al., 2022). Therefore, the relevance of timely application of effective low-intensity interventions is critical for psychocorrective and preventive strategies in affected individuals. Even with symptoms of an acute stress reaction, less than 20% of victims develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Ophuis et al., 2018). According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 6 in 10 men (or 60%) and 5 in 10 women (or 50%) experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime (National Center for PTSD, 2020). In addition to the direct impact of trauma (real or potential threat to life, physical or sexual violence), the indirect impact of stress is also taken into account. These are witnesses of traumatic events, traumatization of family and friends, or persons whose professional duties include work potentially associated with stress (work with children who have survived violence) (Markova & Rosinsky, 2019; Sweeney et al., 2018). The war in Ukraine (February 2022 – ongoing) is a global traumatic event that has affected millions of people (Poberezhets, 2022). Violence, forced displacement, participation in hostilities, loss of loved ones during military conflicts can directly increase the risk of developing mental disorders, namely PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders, as well as significantly reduce the quality of life of the victims (Markova et al., 2022; Grasser, 2022; Bürgin et al., 2022). Psychological first aid (PFA) involves the provision of immediate support to survivors of violence and trauma in order to reduce stress, alleviate suffering and accelerate recovery (Figueroa et al., 2022). At the same time, the timing of providing PFA after exposure to a traumatic event plays an important role (Vermetten et al., 2020). The neurobiological concept of "golden hours" or "window of opportunity" (Zohar et al., 2011) is the period between the experience of a traumatic event and the onset of PTSD, which suggests the possibility of preventing the occurrence of mental disorders by influencing the process of memory consolidation. The presence of a traumatic memory is a risk factor for PTSD (Lange et al., 2023). "Golden hours" are the first few hours when it is possible to prevent the consolidation of unstable, short-term memory of the trauma into a fixed, stable, long-term memory. Interventions applied in the "golden hours" are a new and promising direction of research, especially relevant, taking into account the mass exposure of Ukrainians to traumatic situations.