Covid-19 and the worsening mental health situation

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically address health and well-being in agenda 3. Excluding mental health, we cannot achieve the goal of sustainable development. It is important to decentralise mental health services to suburban, rural, and remote areas. Training on mental health is essential to creating a skilled workforce. Training should be given from district hospital to community clinic.

The approximate number of deaths in Bangladesh due to COVID-19 is 27,785 (30 November 2021). Covid-19 is a viral disease but the extent of the disease is so boundless that it transcends the dangers of physical health and is devastating us mentally, socially, and economically.

As a result, no one knows when this crisis will end. It is difficult to find the answer to this tough question. Many people have lost their jobs jobs due to corona. There are many other people who have jobs but they do not receive salaries and allowances. Most of them belong to the middle class. So, what is the way to overcome the crisis? During this crisis of corona infection, the government has taken development activities and people-friendly measures for the overall protection and livelihood of people of different professions. All these measures are contributing at least a little bit to keep the wheel of the stagnant economy running.

Good health is good physical and mental health. Physical and mental well-being complement each other. It is not possible to achieve mental well-being without physical well-being. Mental illness, on the other hand, affects physical well-being. Although the physical illness is visible, mental illness is not visible at least in the early stages. It is visible when it assumes a deadly shape. This person-centered problem also appears to be the cause of his family and social problems. Another mental problem is ‘anxiety’. The person with the problem worries too much about anything. Fear of losing family members or important things always worries them. Even the tendency to have serious suspicions about others at one time works. Although it seems normal at the initial stage, the family and social life of the person with this problem may be disrupted later on. Another condition in mental illness is ‘depression’. An estimated 190 million people worldwide suffer from depressive disorders.

According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health, 12.8 per cent of people in Bangladesh suffer from depression. In other words, in this country of 160 million people, the number of patients suffering from depression is more than 20 million. According to the doctors, depression is a mental and physical disease at the same time. Now the question arises from the source of these statistics, how favourable is the environment of the country for the patients suffering from depression and mental illnesses? The environment here refers to the family, social and the whole national environment. Mental disorder is not a shameful disease. Like all other ailments of the body, there can be mental ailments, which are neither equally obvious nor acceptable in our society. On the contrary, his/her family cannot interact easily with the person who suffers from this problem. The family suffers from an inferiority complex. Which has many bad effects on the life of that person. The whole family is always confused about the person who has gone through a changed psychological state.

During this pandemic period, virtually every person in Bangladesh is under tremendous stress. There is a tendency to commit suicide as a result of various mental stresses. A survey of service providers working with young people’s mental health found that the high number of suicides during the corona period is a cause for serious concern. Many people and organizations are working to identify the causes of various mental health problems, the causes of suicide and to find solutions. From March 2020 to February 2021, there were a total of 14,438 suicides in the country. According to 322 suicide case studies, 49 per cent of those who committed suicide were between the ages of 20 and 35 and 56 percent of them are women.

According to the data available, many young people suffer from mental depression. Being upset most of the time they lose interest in the job of their choice. Abnormally more or less sleep, loss of focus at work, negative thoughts, suffering from indecision in everything are quite common among many people during the ongoing pandemic. Research has shown that when these problems become severe, the tendency to commit suicide increases. The main reason is not being able to talk openly with anyone about their mental instability. Experts suggest that if you are upset or depressed you should share it with friends, family, and through various social media. These days most of the people spend more time than usual on social media which is upsetting them mentally. According to a study many people spend more than eight hours a day on social media. They also stated that their mental health interferes with their daily activities. Of these, 91.4 percent have never consulted a psychiatrist.

Multiple studies show that one in five people infected with corona develops mental diseases like depression, anxiety and psychosis. Experts say that the rate of stress, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks among people affected by corona and health workers is many times higher than usual. Even after you recover from corona, there is still risks of mental problems.

It is quite obvious that mental problems have increased in Bangladesh during the pandemic period. Mental distress is exacerbated by fears of corona infection, uncertainty about access to medical care, fear of death, economic turmoil, unemployment after losing a job and even misconceptions about corona-negative social inequalities. There is stress among health workers at all levels engaged in corona treatment that is harming their mental health. Even in corona, domestic violence and gender-based violence have increased around the world.

Covid-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance abuse disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection ̶ they may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death. Good mental health is absolutely fundamental to overall health and well-being. Covid-19 has interrupted essential mental health services around the world just when they’re needed most. World leaders must move fast and decisively to invest more in life-saving mental health programmes  ̶  during the pandemic and beyond.

However, it is important to remember that in this critical moment, it is normal to be panicked, stressed, or frustrated. The whole world is facing an unusual situation. If a person panicks his or her immunity is compromised, the risk of infection increases. Panic and stress in the person affected by the corona will make make corona more complicated. So, everyone needs to increase their skills to deal with stress.

If a person’s personal, family, social life is disrupted due to long-term mental illness, then it will be considered as a disability due to mental illness. It is possible to bring mental illness under control by identifying it at an early stage and bringing it under medical supervision. Treatments include medicine, psychotherapy, counseling, and occupational therapy. This means that a mentally ill patient can return to normal life if he receives treatment through a multi-disciplinary approach. We all have to stand by them.

The writer is a Research Fellow, BNNRC. He can be contacted at  hiren.bnnrc@gmail.com