By Staff Writer Trevon Dowling
The people of the world took their safety and health for granted before the outbreak of COVID-19. It’s easy to remember the feelings of hopeful denial and anxiousness as we first heard reports of the outbreak in China. As it spread, feelings switched to the dread of uncertainty as it entered the US. We hoped that it might be stopped in its tracks by successful quarantines, only for it to circumvent every obstacle put in front of it and sweep through the nation regardless.
Given the abundance of hearsay, lack of clarity and scarcity of objective truth in coverage of the pandemic, it was hard to know where COVID would strike next or how devastating it might be to communities once it did hit. There was always a chance that any given encounter with any given person might lead to infection. Being forced into constant vigilance by the situation weighed heavily on many people.
Many felt a sense of helplessness and aimlessness as COVID took over people’s lives, shutting down businesses and social events the world over. Nearly everyone was affected in some way, whether it be financial hardship, loss of employment, political tension, or the sickness of friends and loved ones. It was not uncommon to hear sentiments that society might never recover or even outright collapse.
Just as well, once you get it, COVID absolutely lays you out. While the inability to smell or taste is the most notorious signal that someone is infected, there are many more symptoms, many of which are very uncomfortable and disruptive. The brain fog in particular can be downright crippling to one’s ability to function properly as it becomes difficult to think and focus on one’s work. For some, the symptoms of COVID lingered long after their infection subsided.
COVID-19 can be seen as something of a shared trauma for our society as a whole. It was a harsh demonstration of just how woefully unprepared our society was to deal with a pandemic. This has understandably left many people jaded and emotionally exhausted.
There are those who already struggled with feelings of loneliness, social isolation, anxiety, and depression well before COVID hit. With the world locked down during the pandemic and so many people shut up in their homes under quarantine, these feelings were often exacerbated, and moreover were felt by more and more people. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported last year that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a massive 25% increase in anxiety and depression among the world’s population.
Most national governments have allocated resources to mental healthcare as part of COVID-19 recovery initiatives, but they can only do so much for industries with a scarcity of workers. There are also harmful societal stigmas against mental illness and cognitive disability, and some lack the knowledge, resources, time or will to properly attend to their mental wellbeing.
Still, with the overabundance of mental health symptoms comes the inevitability of understanding, acknowledgement and action. Mental healthcare is generally taken more seriously nowadays than it was before the pandemic. It is more often recognized that mental and emotional health are just as fundamental to one’s wellbeing as physical health. Stigmas are fading away and self-sufficiency is not so strictly demanded.
One interesting development during the pandemic was the proliferation of Zoom, as well as telehealth services. These can be very beneficial to those in need of mental and emotional support from professionals, but would not be up for an in-person visit for practical or personal reasons. People are now better equipped than ever to act on their needs for support.
Things can never truly return to the way they were before COVID-19 and it would be naïve and reckless to go on with life as though it never happened. Healthcare providers still struggle to attend to the needs of all those who need care and support in the aftermath of the pandemic. It often takes a while to get an appointment with any medical professional. Still, the increase in awareness of mental health and the elimination of stigmas associated with it are potentially positive takeaways from the overwhelmingly detrimental COVID-19 crisis.
If you feel that you would benefit from speaking to a mental health professional, there is no shame in that and you should seek help sooner rather than later. If someone you care for is in that situation, it is good to recommend that they do so as well. Your mental health is vital to your wellbeing and should never be neglected at any cost.
Source for WHO statistic