The article presents a study of the mindfulness practice effect on the cognitive and psycho-emotional profile of two groups of people who have been in social isolation for 6 months. There are few interventions that affect significantly the reduction of the adverse impact of social isolation. Mindfulness practices that train skills for monitoring the present moment experiences have shown promising results. The study was conducted on a sample of 19 participants with 3–5 and 5–10 years of mindfulness practices. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether mindfulness practices can compensate for the negative impact of social isolation on the psycho-emotional and cognitive profile of participants. To test this hypothesis, the following methods were used: the Beck Depression Scale, the Rumination Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory, the five-factor personality model, the Visual Analogue Scale for assessing the emotional state, and computerized cognitive tests. The results showed the potential value of mindfulness practices in reducing symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mental illness characterized by recurrent episodes of mania, depression, or mixed states. The lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder across the spectrum is estimated at 2–4% in the general population and is the sixth leading cause of disability worldwide. Cannabis is the most commonly used substance after alcohol and tobacco. Its use increased from 4 to 9.5% between 2020 and 2022, and the prevalence of cannabis use disorders rose from 1.5 to 2.9% over the same period. Among patients with mental disorders, the most common reason for using cannabinoids is to try to alleviate their underlying illness, which is probably achieved in the initial stages of using this type of psychoactive substsance. However, its influence on the course and prognosis of the disease in the long term remains insufficiently studied, which requires a detailed investigation of this problem. For our study, in the period from 2020 to 2022, we selected 104 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (F31) with a plant cannabinoid addiction syndrome (F12) with a disease duration of more than five years, and the onset of cannabinoid use was noted already amid an established diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The average age in the group was 39 ± 3 years, the distribution by sex was 47% (p < 0.005) — men, 53% (p < 0.005) — women. The study showed that the beginning of the use of plant cannabinoids in a context of BD generally worsens the mental state of patients and, in terms of prognosis, is unfavorable for the course of the disease. This conclusion is confirmed by the complete absence of remission in 2% of patients with an interval of 6 months from the beginning of the study of these patients, the severity of the condition in general, rapid change in the phases of bipolar disorder, and the need to prescribe higher doses of a pharmacological drug. A change in the labor activity of patients was noted — in the primary study we did not register non-working patients; in the study spaced 6 months apart, there were 5% of them; the level of qualification of the work performed in the group as a whole also decreased (employed in highly skilled labor in the primary study — 31%, in the study of this group of patients, this figure decreased to 25%. The motive for using plant cannabinoids was an attempt to alleviate their mental state (73%), 20% of patients noted the motive as “an attempt to experience pleasure”, 7% of patients could not explain the reason for starting cannabinoid use.

Currently, the possible role of intestinal microorganisms in the etiology and pathogenesis of mental illness is being actively studied all over the world. Every year the number of studies is steadily increasing, however, in the Russian-speaking environment, an awareness of this issue and the number of extensive reviews of scientific literature still remain at an insignificant level. The aim of this study is to review and systematize the scientific literature and clinical studies on the impact of the intestinal microbiome on the etiology and pathogenesis of depression, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer's disease, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The actual studies were conducted in sick volunteers and animal models using different approaches: comparison of the composition of the gut microbiota between affected subjects and controls; observation of behavioral changes in affected subjects after administration of pathogenic intestinal microbiota or probiotics. Definite regularities in the change in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the taxonomic units of various microorganisms were revealed.

The article describes certain aspects of negative psychosocial influence as a complex of specific exogenous-endogenous factors involved in the development of the schizophrenic process. For example, this is the lack of communicative-emotional parent-child relationships, in which one's own existential experience is not formed, which is necessary for the formation of value-motivational behavioral potential. As a result, there is an inability to self-reflection and internal self-regulation, which provoke, among other things, the mechanisms of alienation of the inner I. The issues of metacognitive potential deficits in persons suffering from schizophrenia (social cognition) are also touched upon.

Introduction. According to clinical observations, depressive states in the structure of bipolar disorder (BD) are observed in 23.8% of the examined patients. Most studies show that compared with the general population, the standardized mortality rate in patients is about 30%; BD patients account for 1.4% of total deaths. Aim. To assess the risk of suicidal behavior in depression in the structure of BD complicated by plant cannabinoid ad¬diction. Materials and methods. For this research, 58 patients with diagnosed BD associated with the syndrome of cannabinoid addiction were selected – the main group (mean age 34 ± 4 years). The control group consisted of 100 individuals with BD without associated pathology (mean age 32 ± 3 years). The duration of the disease in both groups ranged from 1 to 5 years. The following methods and scales were used in the study: clinical method – mental status assessment, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the SAD PERSONS Scale – a scale for suicide risk assessment. Results. The study showed that the risk of suicidal behavior in depression in the structure of BD complicated by plant cannabinoid addiction increases significantly, which is confirmed by the results of assessment using psychometric scales (after 6 months since the beginning of the study in the main group, a high risk of suicide was diagnosed in 8% of cases, after 12 months – in 11%, very high risk – in 4% of cases). The deterioration of the mental state was confirmed by the frequency and longer duration of hospitalizations in a psychiatric hospital: in the main group, the average duration of hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital after 6 months since the beginning of the study was about 5.3 ± 2 months (67% (p < 0.005)), after 12 months – about 5.9 ± 1 months (72% (p < 0.005)). In the treatment of this category of patients, high drug resistance was noted (73–86% (p < 0.05)). Conclusion. The use of plant cannabinoids increases the risk of suicidal behavior. Depression in the structure of BD associated with plant cannabinoid addiction was characterized by resistance to therapy. An increase in anxiety levels led to compulsive suicide attempts which is a key risk factor for completed suicide.