海角大神

For Iranians overwhelmed by economic, health, and political hardships, the historical irony on display at the sprawling聽Behesht-e Zahra聽(Zahra鈥檚 Paradise) cemetery, Tehran鈥檚 largest, could not be more acute.

It was there that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, upon his return from exile in February 1979 to launch Iran鈥檚 Islamic revolution, promised Iranians a 鈥渞ich, satisfying life,鈥� and told them to expect more than new homes, free water and electricity, and free bus rides.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be satisfied just by those,鈥� the charismatic Shiite cleric declared. 鈥淲e will exalt your souls.鈥�

Yet 43 years later, from聽Behesht-e Zahra聽and numerous other cemeteries across the country, reports emerged in December of a rash of thefts born of economic desperation so severe that thieves are stealing gravestones and reselling them at a discount after grinding off the names of the deceased.聽

Grim as that cemetery desecration may be, for Iranians it is just one more telltale sign of a broader, yearslong decline from the dream of exalted souls. With few expectations of government help, as the economy disintegrates, other signs include a new spike in the national suicide rate and a surge in demand for counseling services.

In December, the head of Tehran鈥檚 coronavirus task force, Dr. Alireza Zali,聽made a headline-grabbing announcement. One out of every 3 citizens now grapples with some form of聽鈥渕ental disorder,鈥� he said.

鈥淕iven the disastrous inflation, poverty, unemployment, suppression, and restrictions on freedom ... such mental disorders are no surprise,鈥� responded Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, who now lives in exile, on her social media channel. 鈥淭hese figures just demonstrate how critical the situation in Iranian society has become.鈥�

鈥淭o promote mental health in Iran, people need to feel valued, that we are accepted by society,鈥澛爏aid Saba Alaleh, a clinical psychologist who left Iran in September.

鈥淯nfortunately, we see that in Iran ... everything has to be within the structure of the ruling regime,鈥� said Ms. Alaleh, speaking from Turkey to a recent online panel organized by the Washington-based Middle East Institute (MEI). 鈥淚n such a repressive environment, I lose my individuality and my self-respect is diminished. And losing my self-esteem, my mental chaos will increase.鈥�

Every nation in the world has felt the psychological bite of COVID-19. A聽study of 204 countries published by The Lancet last October, for example, found a pandemic-related global increase of more than 25% in both 鈥渕ajor depressive鈥� and anxiety disorders in 2020.

On the pandemic front, the Iranian authorities in fact won praise last year from the World Health Organization for adopting 鈥渋nnovative approaches in essential mental health services,鈥� which implemented 鈥渂est practices from around the world.鈥�

Within three weeks of the first COVID-19 cases being detected, the WHO noted, Iranian health officials had set up a national help line offering 鈥渢rained mental health staff to provide individualized service,鈥� which answered an average of 5,130 calls each day during the first nine months of the pandemic.

But beyond COVID-19, Iran鈥檚 misery has been deepened by a unique constellation of harsh U.S.-led sanctions, government economic mismanagement, drought, and a regime that is widely seen not as a problem-solver, but as adding to the suffering.

The array of pressures on Iran may, in fact, make the country鈥檚 mental health landscape unique, and the combined result is what some analysts call a growing 鈥渃ulture of sadness.鈥�

鈥淐ountries can go through depression,鈥� Dr. Mojgan Hakimi, chair of the department of psychology at Touro College in Los Angeles, told the MEI panel. But 鈥減olicies can make a difference,鈥� she added. 鈥淔reedom can make a difference.鈥�

Signs are emerging that political hard-liners, who now control every lever of state power, are beginning to recognize the severity of the problem, even if they have not yet prioritized finding solutions.

Top officials have acknowledged widespread hardship, offering cash handouts and promising to fix the economy.

Still, political disillusionment has a key impact on the public鈥檚 mental health, says Farshad Momeni, director of the nongovernmental Institute of Religion and Economic Studies.

鈥淎s the people鈥檚 relationship with the ruling system worsens, we face a trust deficit, instability, dishonesty, hoarding, decline of morality, addiction, corruption, suicides, psychological problems, mental issues, growing divorce rates, and so on,鈥� Mr. Momeni told officials of the research arm of the governmental Social Security Organization in November.

鈥淥ur [government] survey and monitoring system ... fails to see the most obvious phenomena,鈥� he warned.

In Iran today, inflation, poverty, a sense of hopelessness, and suicide rates are all on the rise. Indeed, official statistics show that the ranks of those in 鈥渁bsolute poverty鈥� have doubled in the past three years to include 30 million Iranians 鈥� more than one-third of the population.

The annual inflation rate had reached 43.4% by last month, according to government figures, and some food prices had risen by nearly 80%.

In Tehran, one vivid example of the scale of want can be found at a big fruit and vegetable market, where grocers put damaged and expiring produce on sale at a steep discount at 7 p.m. Every evening, shoppers stand in long lines to take advantage of the cheap prices.

鈥淭o tell you the truth, I am really puzzled with how people cope with this,鈥� says an Iranian journalist with decades of experience, who was astonished when introduced to the market by a man living in the basement of his building.

He notes recent statistics from the Central Livestock Union that meat consumption has fallen in the past year by 50%, while sales of dairy products have dropped by nearly 60% in the same period, thanks to price rises of 70%.

鈥淭hat also affects the mental situation of people, that they can鈥檛 buy what they used to buy before,鈥� says the journalist, who asked not to be named. So do fears of joblessness, he says, at a time when unemployment rates have topped 10%.

The widening financial hardship is increasingly visible in daily life: People are renting rooftops or living in tents; a growing number have turned to scavenging. In recent weeks, Iranian media have carried reports on how some Tehranis 鈥� not those who are destitute or have addiction problems, but employed ordinary people who can no longer afford to pay a rent 鈥� sleep every night while riding public bus routes back and forth across the city.

鈥淭he economy in Iran is everything, and mental health is seriously connected to it,鈥� says a professional photographer who has chronicled Iran鈥檚 battles with COVID-19 and other trials over the past two years, who asked to remain anonymous.

鈥淧eople felt they were at the edge of this nightmare, that they opened their eyes and saw this unknown, dead world,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚ranians ... were not prepared for this situation.鈥澛犅�

One result: Suicides have increased, leaping by 29% in the early months of the pandemic compared with a year earlier, according to the official Statistics Center of Iran, and the annual trend has remained upward, though no recent government figures are available.

Iranians have also shown their anger at the government鈥檚 failure to stem the country鈥檚 economic slide, taking to the streets to join protests that are sometimes violently put down, leaving hundreds dead since 2018.

The latest round of teacher protests erupted after President Ebrahim Raisi presented his budget last month. He proposed a 240% increase in spending on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and a 56% increase for state-run media, while offering only a 10% wage hike to teachers and other government workers.

It all adds up to more psychological pressure.

The increased availability of COVID-19 vaccine has eased some of the strain, after a slow rollout and the initial refusal by Iran鈥檚 supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to permit Western-made vaccines. But the coronavirus is not the only problem.

鈥淚t is a bit different from the past; the seriousness of the situation seems to be created by the people in power,鈥� says the journalist. 鈥淓ven Khamenei has mentioned that the trust between the people and the regime has been damaged.鈥�

The new hard-line President Raisi has made some populist moves by visiting provinces shunned by his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani. They are 鈥渁n attempt to bridge this growing gap that many officials now acknowledge,鈥� says the journalist.

So was a promise of 鈥済ood news鈥� by the government鈥檚 economic affairs chief, Mohsen Rezaei, which turned out to be a welfare card worth only $8 per month that has still not been introduced.

Iran鈥檚 parliament, too, has been criticized for ignoring the multiple crises and instead focusing on religious issues and further restricting freedoms. It recently found time to forbid the import of musical instruments and sunglasses.

Critics say such behavior illustrates how out of touch Iran鈥檚 leaders are, and how unable they are to improve economic conditions, which might help improve Iranians鈥� mental health.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e got other priorities,鈥� Alex Vatanka, an Iran expert at MEI, told the recent MEI panel.

鈥淭hey are engaged in the battle of 鈥榓ll time鈥� against the United States; they have a [regional] foreign policy project that they want to finish.

鈥淎nd in the meantime,鈥� he added, 鈥渢hey are forgetting about the homeland ... about the majority of Iranians who really have issues that they need to have provided for at home.鈥�