The World Health Organization, this week, published a scientific brief, detailing the scale of Covid-19’s effect on global mental health during its first year (2020).
Some of the key statistics and findings.
-Global prevalence of depression and anxiety spiked by 25%.
-Young people and women were hit hardest by the mental health effects.
-Essential workers were hardest hit. Health care workers’ exhaustion was a major trigger for suicidal thinking.
-Those with pre-existing conditions that might raise their risk of fatality from Covid, such as cancer, heart disease, and asthma, were more likely to develop symptoms of mental disorders.
-Those with pre-existing mental disorders weren’t more likely to be infected with Covid, but were more likely to be hospitalized.
-Mental health services were severely disrupted — more so than other health services. That obviously led to a vicious cycle whereby those with pre-existing conditions were less likely to be able to access services, and those who were in the midst of developing new mental disorders were less likely to seek care.
-Even though 90% of countries say they’ve stepped up their mental health services, there is still a massive shortage.
Clearly, this is going to be a generational mental health problem for those who have survived this horrible disease.
You can find a Covid vaccine here.
And you can…
Find a psychiatrist here.
Find a therapist here.
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