Covirus 19 coronavirus: if the government cares about mental health, it needs to create jobs

COMMENTARY:

When the notification appeared on my phone this morning from an expert saying that 10 percent of New Zealanders would likely be depressed as a result of Covid-19, my first thought was: is that all?

Unfortunately, I am concerned that the number may be much higher.

New Zealand’s discussions of mental health are often quite polarized: You are either good or you are suicidal. We often forget the thousands of layers in between that gross onion.

Whether they are diagnosed with depression or not, many New Zealanders will make it really difficult right now.

Some of these people thought that their life was ready and that they believed that poverty or monetary concerns would never be part of their lives.

Some of these people have their self-esteem intrinsically linked to their work, which is now gone.

Some of them will be struggling because their routine is gone, their life has no structure, their future seems uncertain.

Whether or not a specialist would diagnose some of these people with depression, the reality is that their mental health and well-being have been affected and have joined what was already a long list of people with difficulties.

I know this is not the cure for everything for everyone (as I said, lots of layers), but if people’s mental health is affected by the fact that they have lost their jobs, then the solution is pretty obvious: give them a job .

But here’s the catch: Before I get a ton of emails reminding me that there’s a lot of fruit picking in orchards on the South Island now that tourists are gone, let’s keep in mind that when we talk about health mental of people, is There is no work that solves the problem.

People deserve jobs that fit their lifestyle. You can’t expect a young family to be uprooted from the city in the middle of nowhere because mom or dad got a job picking apples. I mean, you could … but that won’t make them feel better about where they are in life.

Putting people into jobs, suitable jobs that fit their lives and pay a salary that makes them feel worthy and capable of paying good things, will be an important part of taking care of people’s mental health in the post-Covid world. 19.

By “putting them in jobs” I mean more than just creating another job search website: what good is a job search site if there are no jobs?

I know it is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but there is a definitive link between good, stable employment and a person’s mental health. A comprehensive mental health plan must consider this.

There are many ways that the Government can choose to stimulate the economy and create jobs, and that must be an essential part of our recovery.

• Covid19.govt.nz – The official government Covid-19 advisory website

An income should not define someone’s value. We all deserve to feel safe and go to sleep without worrying about how we will feed our children or pay the energy bill. In fact, we all deserve more than that. We deserve more than “making ends meet”, we deserve good things. We can’t keep asking New Zealanders to “shop locally” when so many kiwis can’t even afford to eat out as a family.

The treatment of symptoms is excellent, and should continue to be prioritized. But what’s also really good is getting straight to the root of the problem and ensuring that people can get back on their feet so we don’t find ourselves escaping a coronavirus pandemic just to dive into a mental health epidemic.