Covid Poses 'Greatest Threat To Mental Health Since 2nd World War': Impact Felt For Yrs, UK Expert
'Covid poses 'greatest threat to mental health since second world war.' UK’s leading psychiatrist predicts impact will be felt for years after pandemic ends. The Guardian, Dec. 27, 2020.
The coronavirus crisis poses the greatest threat to mental health since the second world war, with the impact to be felt for years after the virus has been brought under control, the country’s leading psychiatrist has said. Dr Adrian James, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said a combination of the disease, its social consequences and the economic fallout were having a profound effect on mental health that would continue long after the epidemic is reined in.
As many as 10 million people, including 1.5 million children, are thought to need new or additional mental health support as a direct result of the crisis.
The prediction comes as the virus surges in the UK, and highlights the need for a plan that ensures those who develop mental illness or see existing conditions worsen have swift access to effective support in the years ahead. “This is going to have a profound effect on mental health,” James said. “It is probably the biggest hit to mental health since the second world war. It doesn’t stop when the virus is under control and there are few people in hospital. You’ve got to fund the long-term consequences.”
Demand for mental health services dropped at the start of the pandemic as people stayed away from GP surgeries and hospitals, or thought treatment was unavailable. But the dip was followed by a surge in people seeking help that shows no sign of abating.
- Symptoms of Covid-19.
Data from NHS Digital reveals that the number of people in contact with mental health services has never been higher, and some hospital trusts report that their mental health wards are at capacity. “The whole system is clearly under pressure,” James said. Modelling by the Centre for Mental Health forecasts that as many as 10 million people will need new or additional mental health support as a direct result of the coronavirus epidemic. About 1.3 million people who have not had mental health problems before are expected to need treatment for moderate to severe anxiety, and 1.8 million treatment for moderate to severe depression, it found.
The overall figure includes 1.5 million children at risk of anxiety and depression brought about or aggravated by social isolation, quarantine or the hospitalisation or death of family members.
The numbers may rise as the full impact becomes clear on Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, care homes and people with disabilities.
The threat to mental health has been used as an argument against lockdowns, but James said the mental health grounds for controlling the virus should not be ignored. Beyond the fear of becoming infected or having vulnerable loves ones fall ill, suffering severe disease can trigger mental health problems. About a fifth of people who received mechanical ventilation during the spring developed post-traumatic stress disorder. Others are dealing with complex grief reactions after losing loved ones to the virus, often without being able to say goodbye in person.
The potential for mental health problems emerging in people with “long Covid” is also a very real worry, James said, adding that uncertainties over employment, housing and the broader economic hardship ahead will only add to the burden...
More, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/27/covid-poses-greatest-threat-to-mental-health-since-second-world-war
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- 'America's healthcare system will struggle to deal with Covid 'long-haulers,' The Guardian, Dec. 27, 2020.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/27/america-healthcare-system-coronavirus-covid-long-haul
= new reply since forum marked as read
That pandemic was much worse.
One third of the 1.5 billion world population infected, with 50-80 million dead.
We can get through this one.
Time doesn’t heal wounds, but it scars them over well.
To those who did not have to die in this one. I blame Trump.
