Serving in Armenia’s Army has Become a Phobia, Say Experts

Fears are not just features of nature, but also arise in certain social conditions, said AYG Center for Psychological Services Chief Specialist Ruben Poghosyan, while meeting with journalists today. 

Within this context, Poghosyan also spoke about the Armenian army: “Serving in our army today has become an obligation, it seems. There’s always the impression that there they [conscripts] have to become ill; they don’t return healthy from there [the army]. Already there’s a fear toward serving [in the army].”

In his words, returning from the army are youth who are ill and full of fear, and that can be motivated by hitting and beating. Phobias can arise while serving in the army, according to Poghosyan, as a result of young soldiers being predisposed to a fear of serving in the army and having a fear of what might happen, but also as a result of an environment of hitting and abuse (which many know to be a common occurrence in Armenia’s armed forces).

Speaking of the recent deaths in Armenia’s armed forces, Poghosyan said that authorities have to carry out social and psychological work.

Lecturer with Yerevan State University’s Faculty of Sociology Anna Voskanyan, in turn, said that there are published material related to this topic and special social workers, who can work in the army, are getting prepared.

“It’s just that the army is a totalitarian organization, it’s closed,” stressed Voskanyan, adding that the state has to be ready to become free, so that the issues in the army can be discussed.

“It’s surprising for me that in Armenia, it’s not shameful to have a problem, but it’s shameful to resolve the problem,” she said.