“The situation can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder” – psychologist about the attack on the figure skater Dikiji

Elizaveta Kozhevnikova, a two-time Olympic mogul medalist and sports psychologist, told that the skater Vladislav Dikidji can develop a stress disorder after an attack in the subway.

On Friday, Dikiji, 19, said he was attacked in the St. Petersburg metro and threatened with a knife-like object. The skater was not injured. On Saturday, the athlete’s coach, Oleg Tataurov, told that the police had already arrested the attacker, Dikidzhi had been training and his condition was stable.

— The incident can either pass without a trace or lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. It depends on the resources of the athlete’s nervous system and their current stress load. The psyche is capable of processing this type of experience on its own. If after about a month the athlete notices that his condition has worsened: he experiences severe anxiety, flashbacks and is afraid of facing triggering stimuli, this means that traumatic stress has entered a self-perpetuating cycle and that a specialist must be involved. Otherwise, it can affect motivation, sleep, the ability to regulate emotions, fine coordination, etc. “, Kozhevnikova told .

The press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region announced on Saturday the arrest of the attacker. He turned out to be a 61-year-old local resident working as a maintenance engineer in a private company. A criminal case was opened under the article “Hooliganism”. The man said he threatened the skater with scissors.

Dikidzhi won a silver medal at the Russian Championship, which took place in December 2023 in Chelyabinsk. The skater also won two stages of the Russian Grand Prix, in Kazan and Moscow.