An increase in mental illness is “inevitable” as a result of the coronavirus, the new president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists warned.
In his first interview since taking office, Dr. Adrian James said there would be “multiple layers” of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, both for people with pre-existing mental health conditions and for those who have never suffered before.
He said that NHS front-line staff needed support, while those recovering from Covid-19 should be screened for problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
And he warned that waiting lists for treatment would now increase substantially, even for young children and the elderly.
“There will be very important consequences for Covid’s mental illness, and we must be prepared.”
Dr. James said the pandemic had exacerbated the problems for some people with pre-existing conditions, including anxiety and depression, but as the country closed, fewer people sought help due to fear of contracting the virus.
But demand had started to rise again, which would stretch services, he said. “A lot of need was removed,” he said.
“And of course you can only do that for a while. As we know, it happens to people with mental illness if you don’t treat early, it becomes more acute and you have a crisis.”
“There are people who should have been receiving treatment and received no treatment, and their conditions will worsen and their need will be even greater.” There are also people who are developing mental illnesses through Covid.
“Some people have been directly affected, people who have been on a ventilator, post-traumatic stress disorder rates are significantly higher.”
“So there are people who have lost people or who are very concerned that they are losing people.” And, of course, the pain within Covid has been much more complex because people were sometimes unable to support each other. .
“People were told that someone would die within 24 hours. Sometimes they got to see their loved ones, but other times they didn’t.”
Dr. James said the virus itself appears to affect the nervous system, with reports of psychosis in people with no history of the disease and others with a dementia-like syndrome.
Those recovering from Covid-19, therefore, face multiple potential mental health problems, he said. “They are at risk for a wide variety of mental illnesses. Obviously, you have PTSD that can be resistant to treatment unless you treat it early.”
“We recommend that everyone who has been on a respirator undergo a screening test at the point of discharge and have an examination after one month.”
A fifth of Britons have contemplated self-harm during the shutdown according to research from University College London.
UCL surveyed 40,000 people, 8,000 of whom (18 percent) reported experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide. The survey was self-selected and promoted by various mental health organizations, indicating that respondents may have previously accessed mental health supports.
The impact of the coronavirus crisis has been mentioned in at least 11 recent investigations for those who died of suspected suicide.
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