AUTHOR-Samridhi Sharda
“It’s easy to blame it’s easy to politicize, it’s harder to tackle a problem together and find solutions together.”
- WHO Director-General TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus, PhD, MSc
A pandemic is a serious public health emergency and drastic containment measures areunavoidable. The Covid-19 pandemic today, poses an urgent threat to both the physical welfare and the collective economic health of our communities. Almost all economies in the world today, have declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the deadly coronavirus, and as the economies struggle to contain this spread, a total lockdown; the harshest measure has been imposed, assuming a necessity for the containment and preservation of public health.
In the wake of the enormously volatile global situation created by Covid-19, it is important to acknowledge that this is not only a medical crisis and while our economies struggle with the daily dose of death, isolation, fear and mis-information, a historic wave of mental health fallout is approaching and waiting to erupt. Given the apocalyptic speed with which the Covid – 19 is sweeping and Depending on how long we’re forced to exist in this suspended state, it could get a whole lot worse. Although mental health issues account up toat least 10 percent of the world’s population is affected, and that 20 percent of children and adolescents suffer from some type of mental disorder.[i] These issues tend to be under- addressed and overlooked in our society due to the stigma associated with it and even more so, during a deadly virus outbreak. This today, has created unusual situations which were never dreamt of and these unprecedented times faced with the new realities of quarantine, work from home, unemployment and lack of physical contact , bring with them the increased responsibility to look after our mental health along with our physical health.
When a pandemic strikes, it often casts a shadow of psychological trauma and societal injuries which receiving no or less attention wreaks carnage and upheavals families. The trauma it creates can affect people in all sorts of ways, both individually and collectively. It’s scary and the truth is, it might get much more worse. As if the prevailing atmosphere of stress and negativity is not enough, the current reality includes bigger aspects of financial troubles, health scares, political disturbance and the failing economy. Even when things start to look a little positive, the talk of a second wave brings the situation back to reality again.
Mental health is a major concern across the globe including India. Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1954, had presciently declared that “without mental health there can be no true physical health.”
In a bid to curb community transmission of COVID-19, many national governments have limited human interaction and resorted to activating emergency measures, such as imposition of lockdowns, closure of schools, self-isolation, limiting the people in public places and at ceremonies, such as weddings and burials to ensure physical distancing. The family and friends are not given permission to visit their sick ones due to fear of further transmitting the virus, combined with the loss of loved ones has dramatically increased the level of chaos and unrest in our societies.
Undoubtedly, there is an increase in psychological impacts compared to pre- corona world, with increased levels of stress, anxiety, alcohol abuse, loneliness and self harm leading to depression and suicide. The concerns that a mental health outbreak could occur in the midst of the current corona outbreak is legitimate and devastating. Socio – economic disparities are on the rise due to unemployment and unequal access to resources. The term “vicarious trauma” was first described in 1996 and was initially applied to situations where psychotherapists became affected by long-term contact with patients with mental diseases and manifested mental symptoms similar to psychological trauma. The term has since been widened to include compassion for trauma survivors resulting in physical symptoms such as loss of appetite, irritability, fatigue and sleep disorders. Given the catastrophic state of the situation, it is very likely that traumatic events will occur in hospital environments dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We don’t care, until we care” - The tragic death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the gloom of the Covid-19 pandemic have led to much-needed conversations on mental health in the country. The recent debate and attention of people towards mental wellbeing was raised when actor Sushant Singh Rajput allegedly committed suicide and when the recent scandal of the ‘boys locker room’ went viral questioning “why do people only react to mental health after celebrity suicides or reports of bullying go viral?” This crisis has the ability to spark reforms which have been long – due. It is important that mental and behavioral health should be incorporated in health response strategies and this should be seen as an opportunity into strengthening our mental wellness policies with potential of greater social transformation. Public outcry runs on the context of better availability of mental health resources but no one knows what it means.
There is an increased need for prioritization of mental health provisions for governance frameworks to address mental health literacy along with reduction of the stigma attached to it. The Australian government has already declared a $1.1 billion package to improve mental health efficiency for its people. It is also important to note that legislations do not make a person more mentally resilient or the availability of greater access to mental health resources such as counselors does not mean people will use them, unless the root of the problem is solved; the stigma attached to it. A lot has to do with the way we talk about mental health and how people look at it, which is what I think, deserves greater attention. Whether consciously or sub consciously it carries the burden of how it is seen.
The WHO has itself released guidance on mental health and psychological considerations specifically targeting the frontline healthcare workers. For the general population it talks about addressing this change with compassion and kindness, amplify positivity and hope, adopting a positive lifestyle, maintaining social links and inculcating healthy eating habits. It also talks about establishment of community collations and communication platforms for elders and infirm who are having difficulty in coping with the lockdown.
The conversation however has to begin from us. These transformations simply won't happen overnight. Our mental health system is fundamentally broken and understaffed and is in no way prepared to cope with the influx of mental health problems on healthcare professionals and people for that matter following such a mass tragedy. We need to think about ways to prevent mental health from deteriorating while also developing innovative ways to target groups at risk, particularly health care workers.
Mental health cannot be an afterthought in coping with a pandemic.
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