September- Mental Health Month
How is Covid-19 affecting people that suffer from mental health? What’s the toll that it has on people that suffer from depression and anxiety?
Since 2020 the pandemic has had severe consequences for businesses, people and most importantly over our day-to-day lives. The pandemic has also made a crucial impact on the mental health sector, studies showing that mental health services were disrupted or halted in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health was increasing.
Having to isolate, losing a job or the fear of losing an income is triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones. Many people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety. Meanwhile, COVID-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. It seems that the most vulnerable people in this time of crisis are young people, rather than older people. Younger people are most vulnerable to increased psychological distress, perhaps because their need for social interactions is stronger.
Here at VERCIDA, our response is to use the pandemic to revolutionise mental health support through reaching out to our clients to provide us with real life experiences and advice. We want to help to change things across the spectrum, from prevention to crisis support. We understand there are many types of mental health issues and that they can happen suddenly or build up gradually over time and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic, having to isolate, being alone and not being able to see loved ones has taken its toll. For this reason, we urge employers and employees to support and check on their colleagues. A simple call or a video chat with people that are known to suffer from a mental health issues like depression can make a real difference.
Poor mental health is personal to everyone. We entered the pandemic knowing that many people were falling through the gaps. Now is the time to focus on the groups we know struggled before and during the pandemic and help them manage their mental health.
