Early forecasts suggested otherwise. However, in some regions the situation has even improved.
Alexei Merinov, professor at the Department of Psychiatry at Ryazan State Medical University, said that the mental health of Russians during the pandemic had stabilized. In general, the pandemic did not lead to a sharp increase in new cases of serious mental disorders in people, TASS reported.
Merinov noted that according to preliminary data, there was no noticeable increase in any of Russia's regions, and in some regions the situation had even improved.
Forecasts spoke of an opposite picture. The professor explains the stabilization by Emile Durkheim's theory, derived more than a century ago. Durkheim argued that in times of serious external threats, society consolidates, and the level of all self-destructive behaviors decreases.