Honestly, I sometimes use the "there's war in Ukraine/Syria" when people whine and whine and whine and they have problems they could easily solve if they stopped whinning for a bit and actually done something.

I once gotten into argument with somebody over their claim that "life in California is so stressful, that I would take psychiatric meds even if I were healthy" and the stressfulness was explained as "traffic, jobs and bills": So to me there is a scale of misery. Bad flue is better than cancer. Being depressed in EU is better than being normal in Syria. Few nights of air raids, having few friends killed... you will not remain normal for long and will be PTSD-ed beyond repair.

I travelled in the western Ukraine in the summer and interesting thing is... when I talked to people nobody whined extensively. They'd nod it's hard, but they are strong, yadda yadda. I guess when your country is in war that can make you a history, there is no time for break downs. Those will happen later, when things are relatively better and people more secure.

Still.... it is ever so much easier to get depressed, often as result of trauma, in the bad parts of world. And there is no ERs to go to in Damascus, if you are feeling suicidal. There are no therapists to call for emergency session.


I have my share of demons and trouble, but I will be the first one t confess, they are lesser on the global scale. It gives one a perspective.