Mental Health Crisis in Socially Distanced World
With the world coming together to fight a global pandemic, there is yet another crisis breaking into the lives of individuals locked within four walls — the Mental Health crisis.
Melinda and I grew up learning that World War II was the defining moment of our parents’ generation. In a similar way, the COVID-19 pandemic — the first modern pandemic — will define this era. No one who lives through Pandemic will ever forget it. And it is impossible to overstate the pain that people are feeling now and will continue to feel for years to come.
-From Gates Notes, the blog of Bill Gates
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic early in the year 2020. Rightly said to be the first modern pandemic, it did not just change a whole year but is likely to define the years ahead for the lives affected by it. Global health has always been a matter of concern due to the inequality pertinent across nations. However, mental health as part of the overall health has always remained under the shadows. COVID-19 is not just a physical health emergency. One year through the pandemic, it is evident that its effects on the mental health of individuals are equally alarming.
The Anxiety of the Unknown
Nations went into lockdown one after the other in the previous year, restricting the physical movement of people. The consequences of the virus were still unknown. Discovery about the spread and its health effects was made each day through headlines but the headlines that followed a few months into lockdown were more distressful. People were soliciting support for well-being within the four walls where they were supposed to be safe from the virus. However, the fear was never all about the virus, it was beyond that, and we were unprepared for it.
The United Nations (UN) published a policy brief early in May 2020 warning about COVID-19 carrying the seeds of a ‘major mental health crisis’ if not acted upon in time. According to the policy brief, statistics on mental health conditions were already stark. Around half of all mental health conditions start by age 14, and suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people aged 15–29. Globally there is less than 1 mental health professional for every 10,000 people. Considering the stigma around mental health issues, it was evident that not everyone was safe where they were.
Zero physical interaction with anyone beyond the ones people resided with gave rise to unknown anxiety where no one had a clue about returning to the normal. As the virus took away millions of lives, the mental health of people got worse. The condition of mental health care and its awareness laid bare as it made the headlines. The numbers from the past were not pleasant either.
How Solitude and Loneliness Painted a Hazy Picture
The effects of the lockdown were still unclear. On one side, there were emerging influencers and passionate individuals who found an opportunity to follow the long-lost hobbies, whereas, on the other side, people were struggling to seek help and support for improving their mental health. The two emerging feelings from the situations are that of solitude and loneliness.
Solitude is mostly a chosen state of being where one prefers to spend more time alone. Loneliness happens to be a consequence negatively affecting life. The third state of being coined in a VICE article was that of aloneliness. According to it, aloneliness is a state where there is a mismatch between the time one wishes to spend with oneself and the time one is able to spend alone. It has specifically been a problem for homemakers whose responsibilities multiplied with everyone inside the home for the entire day. A similar issue was dealt with by co-living partners stuck with each other all day long with limited individual space and no external interaction.
Solitude had a positive effect on the mental health of individuals but loneliness extended beyond the lockdown period. People have been intentionally choosing not to meet others and have minimized their interaction within the community. The new normal that has emerged as people learned to live with the ongoing pandemic has been hazy and has affected multiple lives in multiple ways.
The First Modern Pandemic — An Eye-Opener?
COVID-19 is the first modern pandemic. According to researchers, there are more to come. However, the first one is still not over. The unpreparedness at the medical and personal level is an eye-opener about the lives we have been leading and the kind of world we are building as individuals.
“After decades of neglect and under-investment in mental health services, the Covid-19 pandemic is now hitting families and communities with additional mental stress,” warned the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in May 2020. A survey conducted by Suicide Prevention India Foundation in May 2020 revealed that anxiety, job loss or fear of job loss, stress, isolation, and financial insecurity are the most common concerns reported during the lockdown.
One year through the pandemic, education has taken a new turn for students and teachers with virtual learning. However, some have lost the right to learning with no access to modern sources. The work-from-home scenario has become a never-ending job for working professionals in some cases, while the unemployment level has drastically widened the gap in financial equity. While the time spent through the lockdown became a space for some to mend relations, domestic violence became a major consequence of the pandemic. The frontline workers helping people sail through the pandemic are going through a similar mental health crisis.
Thanks to Covid, everyone is in the same boat of despair and despondency.
-Nelson Moses, founder of the Suicide Prevention in India Foundation
It is time we view COVID-19 through the lens of both physical and mental health crises. Even if mental health was not a considerable subject of discussion for many till now, COVID-19 has somewhere made people think about it, directly or indirectly. When thoughts are given in the right direction, they lead to greater actions. The warnings are critical this time, and the crisis a bigger one than it appears on the surface.
It is high time we give a thought to choose the right direction and help build a responsible and aware community in support of mental health awareness and awakening.
In-mind
Crafting the way towards Mental Health