Demand for antidepressants in Russia has massively increased over the past six months, in what one psychiatrist has called a consequence of the crushing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on society’s mental health.
Sales of antidepressants are up 43% in just half a year, while antipsychotics are also up 35%, according to the latest figures published by Moscow daily Izvestia, citing data recorded by the national tracing system Chestny ZNAK.
In total, since July 2021, Russians have spent 2.5 billion rubles ($32 million) on medicines used to treat mental health issues.
Medical professionals have put the increased demand down to users’ concerns about their health, notably post-covid symptoms and general anxiety caused by multiple lockdowns and working remotely, resulting in isolation throughout the pandemic, Izvestia reported.