Psychiatrist Boris Li from the Family Medicine Center No. 6 noted that there are no universal signs of mental disorders, as they can manifest differently. For example, depression may be accompanied by a loss of interests, a decline in social activity, persistent low mood for at least 14 days, as well as feelings of helplessness and worthlessness.
Li added that a set of symptoms forms a psychopathological syndrome, and their combination indicates a specific mental illness.
According to him, the most common disorders are depression, alcohol-related disorders, and anxiety disorders.
“These three categories make up the majority of requests to the Family Medicine Center. While conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders are less common, they require more careful monitoring and serious treatment,” he clarified.
As for anxiety disorders, they also have many manifestations. For example, panic disorder, known as paroxysmal anxiety disorder, is accompanied by sharp attacks of fear.
Boris Li also mentioned generalized anxiety disorders, which are more common and characterized by persistent worry without a specific reason. “Milder but more common variants include social anxiety and specific phobias,” he added.
Depression and anxiety are most often observed among youth and middle-aged individuals, while older adults predominantly experience organic disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
Nurgul Ibraeva, head of the primary healthcare department at the Ministry of Health, noted that according to the World Health Organization, the deterioration of mental health is associated with multiple factors.
“Chronic stress is the leading factor, followed by poverty and financial instability, migration, separation from families, domestic violence, alcoholism (more common among men), the consequences of trauma, and bullying among adolescents,” she reported.Ibraeva also pointed to loneliness, stigmatization, and delayed medical help-seeking as additional reasons. “These factors collectively lead to mental disorders. Unfortunately, in our country, there is unequal access to care, especially in rural areas due to a lack of specialists,” she added.
According to Zhanibek Azhibekov, acting director of the Republican Center for Psychiatry and Narcology, by the end of 2025, there will be only 136 psychiatrists in the country. Fifteen years ago, their number was about 300. Azhibekov noted that the norm is one psychiatrist for every 40,000 people.
Previously, Ibraeva reported that the number of patients with mental disorders in Kyrgyzstan continues to grow. Last autumn, former Health Minister Erkin Checheybaev noted that about 11% of the population faces various mental disorders.
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