COVID-19 and Mental Health Awareness Week 2020
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and given the current situation, it’s an especially poignant topic right now.
Mind reports that, in any given year, about 1 in 4 people in the UK experience some kind of mental health problem. That means it’s almost certain that somebody you know is suffering from a mental health problem right now. While the statistics are yet to come in, it’s very likely that the COVID-19 pandemic will increase this number. So, I thought I’d do my part and share a little of the info I found about mental health during times of crisis.
Mental Health in Times of Crisis
Research has noted “severe” effects on mental health in populations exposed to crisis events, including “high” incidence rates of PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders. A 2006 survey reported by the US National Governor’s Association found that 28.9% of persons quarantined during an outbreak of the original SARS virus reported PTSD and 31.2% reported depression.
Among medical workers, the rates of negative mental health effects were, unsurprisingly, higher; one study found that 93.5% of staff experienced trauma. Other research has shown that crisis events increase people’s desire to seek out social contact, especially among those suffering from anxiety and trauma. Given that social contact is a difficult proposition right now, it’s easy to imagine how the current lockdown could compound the mental health effects of the pandemic.
Alongside AIDS, the Spanish flu was one of the most destructive pandemics in modern times. So, there’s been a lot of comparisons between COVID-19 and the Spanish flu. It might provide some small relief to know that, to date, COVID-19 has been far less widespread and far less deadly. The Spanish flu killed between 20 and 50 million worldwide, many of them young and healthy. As of writing, COVID-19 has been responsible for around 335,000 lost lives, the vast majority of whom have been aged 70+.
Given that we still have work to do around understanding and acceptance of mental health conditions, there isn’t a great deal of research into the effects of the Spanish flu on mental health. However, research by historical demographer Svenn-Erik Mamelund, PhD found that the number of first-time hospitalizations attributed to influenza increased seven times in the years following the pandemic, with symptoms including “sleep disturbances, depression, mental distraction, dizziness, and difficulties coping at work”
Effects of pandemics on Suicide
There have been a number of anecdotal reports in the media around an increase in suicides following the outbreak. As reported by the New York Times earlier this week, the effect is difficult to quantify at this stage. However, an incoming recession, perhaps of unprecedented proportions, has been predicted, and we do know for certain that recession can have a powerful and long-term effect on rates of suicide. For example, following the late 2000s economic crash, rates of suicide in Greece increased by 17% over for the 3 year period between 2007 and 2010, while the UK reported 846 extra suicides among men and 155 in women.
What can we do?
The short answer is that the response to the mental health crisis we’re facing right now has to be multi-pronged i.e. everyone has their part to play. With the ongoing stigma around mental health, it can be tough to know what to do to help friends and family who may be suffering from a mental illness. However, there are a number of recognised positive interventions which include:
Reducing the stigma around mental illness - this one is easier said than done. Maybe it’s a little controversial to say, but it can be a natural reaction to respond with fear and discomfort to talk about mental illness. Men especially can find it difficult to raise their struggles with friends and family. But the solution is to push through the discomfort and bring it out into the open i.e. to talk about it!
If there’s someone in your life who seems to be struggling or has changed their behaviour recently, reaching out to them costs nothing. You don’t necessarily have to talk about mental health - just a call from a mate in a tough time can be enough to make all the difference. If you’d like to offer deeper support, the Mental Health Foundation offers some useful tips about how to go about it.
Shifting the focus of mental health care to early detection - this one is largely on government, but you can help by reaching out to your MP to lobby for increased investment in mental health and a greater focus on identifying those with mental health struggles before the problem becomes severe.
Increased access to mental health care - training and education providers and especially the social entrepreneurship sector can play an important role here by helping to increase access to mental health care. Tools such as self-administered mental health inventories can help to identify at-risk students and service users, while providers can increase their focus on providing information and signposting to available services and running support programs for low income and other at-risk groups.
I’m no expert on this topic, and full credit for the above info goes to the various authors I linked. But I am passionate about helping people, and if you would like to investigate how your business can help with mental health during this time, there are a number of funders who offer various grants suitable for running this kind of project.
As always, I’m available to discuss your options. Just drop me a DM on LinkedIn. Until next week, stay safe, look after each other, and give your mates a call. You just might save a life.
