The pandemic has triggered a lot of changes, including economic recession, a rise in unemployment coupled with mental health challenges. According to global reports, there has been a significant rise in mental health services over the last few months.
Social isolation, fear of jobs, salary cuts, fear of losing loved ones to the epidemic have a huge effect on our anxieties and mental conditions.
A substantial portion of the world’s population has been hard hit by a pandemic-driven recession. In comparison, the lockdown has witnessed a high number of incidents of domestic abuse and depression. Staying alone can be challenging, and without any social contact with the outside world, one can suffer terribly.
Importance of Mental Health
A healthy body can only be the result of a healthy mind. Mental health not only comprises not only psychological but also the emotional and social aspects. As shown in movies and written in poems and stories of the head and heart waging war with each other. This only proves to say that as many decisions are made by logic, emotion plays a vital role, and both are a product of the human mind.
Even after the immediate concerns regarding the drastic effects of the virus, the minor alterations to the lifestyle and other mental health disorders have become substantial.
What Are the Major Challenges?
Apart from the consequences resulting from the direct impact of the virus, the quarantine and lockdown effects also have a significant impact on humanity.
Eating And Sleep Disorders As A Direct Effect Of The Pandemic
Eating disorders are abnormalities in eating behavior of people by Coronavirus Crisis. These may be the result of issues like anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and drug abuse problems. In this present day, another cause added to this frustrating list of problems. It causes eating disorders, the dreadful coronavirus pandemic.
The same description applies to sleep disorders that have seen a surge in public health this year. Fragmented and poor sleep quality constitute sleep disorders. And the effects of this insomnia transforms into health issues, like persistent headaches in minor cases and bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts in severe cases.
A study published in the International Journal solidifies the fact that during the course of the pandemic, many people have been suffering from the symptoms of eating and sleep disorders. These may be a result of the fear-induced from the virus itself, or from the protective measures taken to control the virus transmission like isolation, lockdown and quarantine.
Thus the ongoing conditions have both psychological and socio-cultural factors. These are the cause of the origin of these abnormalities in the eating and sleeping habits of the people. There has been reportedly 40 to 50% rise in the related health issues from the existing ones.
Another major cause that might be an indirect effect of the pandemic induced lockdown is the disorganized work allocation for men and a double workload of both home and office in case of women.
In the process of dealing with the unusual situation of the pandemic, work from home has become the norm. Maybe due to the lack of experience handling work from home has been exhausting, leading to these disorders.
Impact Of COVID 19 On Mental Health
This has been a severe worry even from the beginning of the pandemic. After the severe effects on physical health, the most affected area of concern is mental health. The eating and sleeping disorders discussed above are also a part of the resulting mental health issues due to the coronavirus crisis (outbreak).
In a tracking poll conducted in mid-July in the United States, 53% of adults stated that their mental health had suffered negatively during the course of this outbreak. Apart from the stress-causing eating and sleeping disorders, almost 12% of the resulting health issues are of chronic conditions.
Depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies and loneliness are but a few of the severe mental health conditions. These conditions have seen a sudden but unsurprising spike in the public health records.
The conditions such as those mentioned above are the cause of drug overdose and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
The severity of the situation has led to many volunteering organizations and even governments to come up with solutions. It is not just to only curb the pandemic but also help the people in dealing with their worsening mental health conditions. But nothing can be stronger and a better cure to at least the mental issues than a healthy heart. Do not shy away to accept the situation of your mental health.
Discuss openly with a professional and your loved ones as a part of the rehabilitation process. Become a survivor and inspire those suffering from the same issues to choose a wise and sensible path.
