Existential Foundations of the Clinical and Psychological Picture of Our Time Tragedy

The study presents a model of the clinical and psychological picture of our contemporaries' experience of tragic events related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is shown that the deformation of everyday life under the influence of threatening circumstances sharpened the features of the clinical and psychological picture of everyday life of our contemporaries. As the most significant features, the authors note experiences of the type of traumatic stress (fear of losing a job, experience of limited movement, concern about the problems of the near and distant future, in connection with the transition to remote work, fear of the lack of clear prospects for the future), as well as experiences that create a risk of reducing social interest (a decrease in the level of direct interpersonal contacts, boredom due to a decrease in social and intellectual activity, feelings of helplessness and impotence, fear of loss of autonomy and independence). It is shown that the psychological characteristics of modern people, especially young people and adolescents (representatives of Y and Z generations), create obstacles to the application of the experience of coping with the difficulties of previous generations due to the widespread postmodern worldview with its characteristic features. The tendency of modern existential psychotherapy and positive psychology to accept suffering as an experience necessary for personal growth is shown. As a metaphor for the spiritual life of a contemporary and the inability to help people in need of help, the authors cite the images of the film "Mirror for the Hero" (1987) because of their special relevance in our time. The directions of psychological assistance that allows to release the resources of coping with the situation are revealed. The prospects of studying the clinical and psychological picture of the mental life of people during the COVID-19 pandemic are considered.