Published by New Straits Times, image from New Straits Times.
MENTAL health experts warn that losing social connections in the battle to fight the Covid-19 pandemic comes with psychological costs as it has disrupted people’s routine, which could lead to an epidemic: mental illness.
As the spread of the virus continues, societies are being asked to practise social distancing, restricting people from doing what they used and loved to do before, such as going to work with nothing to worry about, taking a stroll in a park and going for vacations or outings.
For working parents, sending their children to daycare centres is too risky, thus working remotely has become their main option, which is challenging as they have two environments coming together: work and home life.
Nevertheless, people are starting to adapt, adjust and evolve with it, because they have no choice but to find ways to make this new normal, their normal.
Because of that, we can see that the efforts have been fruitful in the sense that it has slowed the spread of Covid-19 in our country.
A longer Movement Control Order could have a profound and lasting impact on people’s mental health, and create new barriers for those who are suffering from a mental disorder.
Although the world has experienced natural and human-made disasters, nothing in history compares with the scope of the Covid-19 crisis.
Past crises — such as Spanish flu, polio, HIV, Ebola, MRSA, SARS, and swine flu — while virulent, were less disruptive to society.
A survey of people highly susceptible to the coronavirus infection shows that the prevalence rate of traumatic stress was at 73.4 per cent, depression (50.7 per cent), generalised anxiety (44.7 per cent) and insomnia at 36.1 per cent.
Research shows that populations with a higher risk of adverse mental health outcomes are Covid-19 patients and their families, those with physical or psychiatric morbidity, healthcare workers, and those who have lost their jobs.
In the context of job loss, psychologists note that losing a job often equates to the grief of losing a loved one. This grief is known as unemployment grief.
Not only do they lose their source of income, but also their work relationships, daily structures and self-purpose.
Even when the world is finally free from the virus, people will continue to battle psychological scars for years, so psychiatrists and those in the healthcare system are needed to deal with this.
Considering that most Covid-19 cases will be handled and treated by healthcare workers with little mental health training and experience, healthcare workers should be given training for psychosocial issues.
Healthcare workers and mental health specialists should perform evidence-based psychological support and treatment related to trauma and disastrous mental health as it will help patients to deal with the mental illness arising from this pandemic more effectively.
For those who are most affected by this crisis, it is equally important to identify that some things are out of your control during this time.
Try to practise healthy coping strategies, like meditation, yoga, stretching session, deep breathing or positive visualisation.
Also, avoid taking in too much information regarding Covid-19.
Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
Consider investing in your personal growth by joining free online courses to expand your knowledge and skills.
Harvard University, for example, has opened online courses for free enrolment, with topics from coding to history to languages.
The Coursera platform hosts courses from institutions and organisations like Google and Stanford, with a broad range of subjects, where the goal is to help workers develop skills to be re-employed in a post-Covid-19 world.
Joining these classes may distract the mind from coronavirus worries and open doors to new opportunities.
Nurafifah Mohammad Suhaimi is Research Assistant at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
