The Mental Health Toll of the Pandemic
By: Dr. Patricia Farrell
Tags: Fear, Loneliness, Mental Health, Pandemic, Life

The Mental Health Toll of the Pandemic

Photo by Cristian Newman

Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. — Fred Rogers

Mental illness may be an inherited, genetic disorder or a reaction to a medication, or to an undetected infection, and even related to stress — and here’s where the pandemic has created unsettling problems.

A major research study concludes that the United Nations and WHO contends that it's important to enhance their focus on mental health matters, including suicide prevention. The organizations assert, “Mental health consequences are likely to be present for longer and peak later than the actual pandemic. Suicide is likely to become a more pressing concern, as the pandemic spreads and has longer-term effects on the general population, the economy, and vulnerable groups.”

Suicide has played a role in too many forms of mental illness. Still, when there are anxiety and depression and a sense of hopelessness about future finances and joblessness, the anty is upped. Not only does financial insecurity lead to child domestic abuse, but it intensifies any pre-existing tendencies to mental distress.

Photo by Benjamin Suter

Pandemic Casts a Wide Net

We live in a time of a new type of xenophobia now; fear of everyone, but especially healthcare workers.

A study of over 3500 adults in Canada and the United States revealed the true xenophobia experienced by healthcare workers during this pandemic. The researchers stated that over one-third of the respondents avoided contact with healthcare workers for fear of infection.

People avoid healthcare workers, but they also avoided drugstores, supermarkets, and leaving their homes. Of course, the latter two have been recommended to stem the spread of the virus.

In this study, these researchers conclude that there is an unrecognized or underrecognized problem in terms of stigma and fear relative to healthcare workers. In fact, a new disorder has, as a result of the pandemic, come into being, COVID Stress Syndrome, which is measured by a COVID Stress Scale that anyone can take online.

But, in addition to this new syndrome, another one has sprung up, Post-COVID Stress Disorder. The disorder may be found in healthcare workers, such as nurses, who were found to have a form of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with lower job satisfaction and problems coping at work and in their private lives.

One study of 7,000 Chinese healthcare workers indicated high rates of poor sleep, and those younger than 35 experienced mood disorders and anxiety. Thirty-five percent of those reported anxiety, 20% had depressive symptoms, and 18% experience poor sleep quality.

Research and clinical observations suggest that during times of pandemic, many people exhibit fear and anxiety-related distress responses that include the following: Fear of becoming infected, fear of coming into contact with possibly contaminated objects or surfaces, fear of foreigners who might be carrying infection (i.e., disease-related xenophobia)…compulsive checking and reassurance-seeking regarding possible pandemic-related threats, and traumatic stress symptoms about the pandemic (e.g., nightmares, intrusive thoughts).

Photo by Kate Trifo

Coping with the After Effects of the Pandemic

Coping by personnel as disparate as vascular surgery medical residents, police officers in Europe, and older adults’ use of the internet during the pandemic is being addressed in the professional journals.

Nevertheless, the surgery residents’ who felt their training had been affected used all supplemental mechanisms offered to cope. Police officers reported less stress due to preparedness but expressed concerns about communication regarding the illness.

But we have to wonder if the blue wall of silence and the one in the medical profession have hidden the psychological disorders arising out of the pandemic. We know that physician suicides have become a grave concern. Police suicides are also of increased concern.

In terms of healthcare personnel, the guidelines appear to be straight-forward; the importance of solidarity, peer support, psychological first aid, and gratitude. What does the future for the rest of us look like?

Optimism is being expressed by medical professionals regarding how the pandemic’s psychological demands and stress will lessen.

We anticipate that as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, so too will the mental health challenges and needs of the public. Further research is needed to understand the full effects of COVID-related stress and these change as the pandemic progresses. Research is also needed to understand the disruptive impact of the antithesis of COVID-19 stress, that being a disregard for the seriousness of COVID-19 and its consequences.

The world has seen pandemics before, and we have survived. Waiting and taking appropriate precautions have always proven the best means to survive both physically and mentally.