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LONDON (Reuters) – A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people around the world are surrounded by death and illness and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said Thursday. in health of the United Nations.
“Isolation, fear, uncertainty, the economic crisis, all cause or could cause psychological distress,” said Devora Kestel, director of the mental health department of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Introducing a UN report and policy guide on COVID-19 and mental health, Kestel said an increase in the number and severity of mental illness is likely, and that governments should bring the issue “to the forefront” and to the center “of your answers.
“The mental health and well-being of entire societies have been seriously affected by this crisis and are a priority that must be urgently addressed,” he told reporters in a briefing.
The report highlighted several regions and sections of societies as vulnerable to mental distress, including children and youth isolated from friends and school, health workers caring for thousands of infected patients, and dying from the new coronavirus.
Emerging studies and surveys already show the impact of COVID-19 on mental health worldwide. Psychologists say children are anxious and increases in depression and anxiety have been reported in several countries.
Domestic violence is on the rise, and health workers report an increased need for psychological support.
Reuters reported last week of interviews with doctors and nurses in the United States who said that they or their colleagues had experienced a combination of panic, anxiety, pain, numbness, irritability, insomnia and nightmares.
Outside the health sector, the WHO report said that many people are distressed by the immediate health impacts and consequences of physical isolation, while many others are afraid of infection, death and loss of limbs. the family.
Millions of people face financial problems, have lost or are at risk of losing their income and livelihoods, he added. And misinformation and frequent rumors about the pandemic and deep uncertainty about how long it will last make people feel anxious and hopeless for the future.
He outlined action points for policy makers to aim to “reduce the immense suffering among hundreds of millions of people and mitigate the long-term social and economic costs to society.”
These included repairing historical underinvestment in psychological services, providing “emergency mental health” through remote therapies such as counseling for front-line health workers, and proactively working with people known to have depression and anxiety, and with those at high risk of domestic problems. violence and acute impoverishment.
(Report by Kate Kelland, William Maclean Edition)
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