長引く侵攻、ロシア国民の精神圧迫　抗うつ剤売り切れも

【モスクワＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領が２月にウクライナ侵攻を発表したとき、学生のワシリナ・コトワさん（２２）は衝撃を受けた。ショックはすぐに絶望へと変わり、やがて抑うつ状態に陥った。（写真はロシア・モスクワの自宅アパートで写真撮影に応じる学生のワシリナ・コトワさん）
　コトワさんはＡＦＰに「２か月間、家から出なかった」と語った。「何もする気が起きなかった。気力がないというより、何もしたくないというか、意味がないような」
　８か月にわたり続くウクライナ侵攻では、核兵器をちらつかせた脅しや、欧米の制裁によるロシアの孤立、動員令に伴う国民の海外流出が起きた。長期化する紛争の余波が自国にも波及し、先が見えない状態が続く中、コトワさんのように不安やうつ症状に見舞われるロシア人は増えている。
　その結果、国内では抗うつ剤が不足し、心理カウンセリングの需要が急増するなど、精神衛生上の危機が徐々に進行していると、業界関係者は警鐘を鳴らす。
　コトワさんは当初、侵攻開始直後に国外へ逃げた何十万人もの国民を「愚か者」だと思い、侵攻は自分には関係ないと思っていた。だがプーチン大統領が９月に数十万人の動員を発表すると、自分の父親や兄弟が戦場に送られるのではないかと心配するようになった。
　さらに、ロシア政府が証拠もなく、ウクライナが放射性物質をまき散らす「汚い爆弾」を使う準備をしていると主張し始めると、コトワさんの母親も懸念を抱き始めた。
　コトワさんは「愚か者は自分なんじゃないかと思い始め、不安がどんどん大きくなっていった」という。

■薬局から消える抗うつ剤
　ロシアの政府寄り調査機関「世論基金（ＦＯＭ）」によると、「不安」を感じている国民の割合は９月の動員令発表後、過去最高の７０％近くに増加した。その１か月後に独立系調査機関レバダ・センターが行った調査では、この割合が９０％近くとなった。
　コトワさんの周辺では、人々の不安が表面化し始めている。プーチン氏が先月、世界は第２次世界大戦以降「恐らく最も危険で予測不可能な１０年」に直面していると述べると、地元メディアは、コトワさんの近隣の住民が付近の地下駐車場に防空壕（ごう）を造り始めたと報じた。
　コトワさんは抗うつ剤を服用するようになり、症状が改善したという。同じ手段に訴える人は多く、当局の統計によると今年１～９月の抗うつ剤支出は前年同期比で７０％増加した。
　心理カウンセリングサービス「ユートーク」の共同設立者アンナ・クリムスカヤ氏はＡＦＰに対し、「動員令の発表以降、オンラインでの依頼が４０％増加した」と説明。うつ病を心配する利用者は同期間で５０％増えたという。
　神経科医のオレク・レビン氏によると、多くの人が抗うつ剤を買いだめに走っている。首都モスクワの薬局では、最もよく処方される抗うつ剤の一つであるゾロフトが姿を消した。
　心理学者は、紛争が長引くことで、ロシア人の精神衛生に長期的な影響が及ぶことを懸念している。
　モスクワの私立診療所メンタルヘルス・センターの療法士アミナ・ナザラリエワ氏は、帰還兵たちが心的外傷後ストレス障害（ＰＴＳＤ）やアルコール依存症に苦しむことは避けられないと指摘。こうした影響は長期にわたり続き、「国全体がこのトラウマに対処することになる」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/14-14:53）

When President Vladimir Putin announced in February that Russian forces were entering Ukraine, a wave of shock washed over 22-year-old student Vasilina Kotova that turned quickly to despair and then depression.
I didn't leave my house for two months, Kotova, a computer science student, told AFP.
I had no energy anymore to do anything. It wasn't even so much the energy but the desire to do anything, like there wasn't any point, she said.
Eight months into the stagnating conflict, fighting in Ukraine has brought with it threats of nuclear weapons, sanctions that have isolated Russians and a conscription drive that has sent thousands fleeing the country.
Kotova is just one among a rising tide of Russians who have grown more anxious and depressed with the conflict grinding on, with its shockwaves being felt back home and the future uncertain.
The result, professionals in the industry say, is a creeping mental health crisis that is spurring shortages of anti-depressants and soaring demand for psychological support.
At first, Kotova admitted, she thought that the hundreds of thousands of Russians who rushed to flee after the conflict began were fools and that the Kremlin's special military operation would not touch her personally.
But then Putin began drafting hundreds of thousands of men into the Russian army in September and Kotova began to worry her father or brother could be sent to the front.
And when Moscow began to sound the alarm -- without providing evidence -- that Ukraine was preparing to use a so-called dirty bomb, her mother's concern grew.
And then you start thinking: 'what if I'm the real fool?' and your anxiety just gets worse and worse, said Kotova.
- Rush for medication -
After Putin announced the mobilisation drive, a record number of Russians -- nearly 70 percent -- reported feeling anxious, the Kremlin-friendly pollster FOM said.
The independent Levada Centre one month later found that nearly 90 percent of Russians were worried by the conflict.
The pollster said 57 percent backed talks with Kyiv -- up nine percentage points from the previous month -- suggesting growing support for a speedy resolution.
Around Kotova, that concern is beginning to show.
Last month, after Putin said the world was facing perhaps the most dangerous and unpredictable decade since World War II, local media reported that some residents of her neighbourhood had begun building a bomb shelter in a nearby underground parking.
Others, including Kotova, are turning to more conventional coping aid: medication. And she said the measure has had a positive impact.
In the first nine months of the year, spending on drugs to cope with depression jumped 70 percent year-on-year, official figures show.
And the YouTalk psychological consultation service has seen the number of online requests increase by 40 percent since the mobilization, its co-founder Anna Krymskaya told AFP.
Clients concerned about depression have grown by 50 percent in that time, she said.
- 'Everyone is worried' -
The growing sense of doom is being felt across Russia's political divide.
Ilya Kaznacheyev says he was happy and proud when Putin launched Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.
But the 37-year-old has been in a state of permanent anxiety since March after Russian troops failed to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
What's worse than a war launched? A war lost! the bearded man told AFP in a Moscow bookstore.
Kaznacheyev said he was considering taking anti-depressants and was worried about shortages of imported drugs due to Western sanctions.
Zoloft, one of the most commonly prescribed medications, has already disappeared from pharmacies in the Russian capital.
A lot of people rushed to stock up, neurologist Oleg Levin told AFP.
And they did the right thing.
Irrespective of their stance on Ukraine, everyone is worried about the future, Levin added.
He said the number of his patients taking depression medication had increased by a quarter since February.
As the conflict drags on, psychologists are worried about its long-term mental health impact on Russians.
Amina Nazaraliyeva, a therapist at the private Moscow clinic, Mental Health Centre, said she worried that some returning troops would inevitably suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism.
She pointed to a spike in pro-violence rhetoric and said Russia would be dealing with the consequences for a long time.
The whole country will process this trauma, she said.