Tag: Covid And Mental Health

‘Lockdowns, Covid Took A Heavy Toll On People’s Mental Health’

By LokMarg

Bhavika Mehta, 25, a psychologist from Bhiwani (Haryana), lists some of the cases she came across amid the pandemic and how she dealt with them

The pandemic has been tough on everyone, more so on the sections and individuals who were vulnerable when it came to mental health even before the pandemic. As a psychologist, I feel that the pandemic has amplified all pre-existing issues including mental health. For the past six months I have been providing free counselling to people reaching out to me. My aim is to help people find some semblance of certainty and peace amid the pandemic

I meet people who are worried about job loss or have already lost their jobs to those dealing with issues regarding their sexuality. Then there are people who have not been able to cope with the passing away of loved ones due to pandemic. There is also the issue of people finding it difficult to manage their emotions while being cooped up in their homes during lockdowns. So far I haven’t received any long Covid cases but I am confident I will be able to help people battling with its impact.

I helped a young boy around 20 who had lost his job as a security guard and was finding it difficult to find a new job because he used to stammer. I counselled him to focus on his strengths rather than his weaknesses and get him enrolled in a free computer class. I told him only his typing speed would matter, and not his speech.

ALSO READ: Covid Normalised Seeking Help From A Psychiatrist

I also helped a girl with gender dysphoria issue. She is 21 and recently married and had seen a lot of violence against women as a youngster. The pandemic made it even more difficult for her to process her emotions. Her parents wanted to take her to tantriks etc but I intervened. The girl has been improving steadily.

Mehta says rise in domestic violence during lockdowns affected the children the most

Then there is a woman who has been finding it difficult to handle the death of her father and feeling listless. There was also a case when all family members’ nerves were stretched to the extreme and the mother went completely silent because of incessant bickering that would take place in the house.

I feel deeply for the young children caught in the pandemic, kids who watch their parents fight day in and day out due to lockdowns. The pandemic is so new and uncertain that no one knows how to deal with it and parents find it difficult to translate their concerns properly to their children. Moreover, kids find it extremely difficult to handle lockdowns, since they can’t go out and play.

I believe we all need to display empathy if we want a mentally healthy society. On an objective level the pandemic has been dreadful, but if we take a subjective look, it has forced us to be ourselves; to bring out our real personalities to the fore. Most importantly, we have to accept the pandemic and even when it becomes endemic, we need to take care of our mental health.

I am happy that during the pandemic many people have begun taking mental health seriously and the judgement or stigma around it has lessened. And while we are at it I would like to say that mental healthcare professionals shouldn’t forget to take care of their own mental health. We all need to live in the present and breathe slowly, that is the very essence of good mental health.

Mental Health Cases During Pandemic

‘Covid Has Normalised Seeking Help From A Psychiatrist’

By LokMarg

Dr Seshadri Sekhar Chatterji, a clinical psychiatrist, says the surge in mental health cases during pandemic also took away the taboo attached to entering the psychiatry ward

Till about two months back, I was associated with the psychiatry department of a government hospital in Kolkata (I recently moved to Australia for a fellowship). Over the past two years, I was witness to how Covid-19 affected not only the physical health of its patients but also messed up with the mental wellbeing of scores, including those who hadn’t contracted the virus.

My area of expertise is geriatric (the elderly) and community psychiatry. During the pandemic, it was sad to see how deeply this elderly section of our society was affected due to either the contagion or the fear of it. I saw a large number of patients above 60 reaching out to me for support.

In the geriatric field, when your body is weak, largely due to age-related ailments, the mental issues can become complicated. Many of those who approached us were suffering from anxiety as a long-Covid symptom. The uncertainty of post-Covid complications kept them under constant edge.

The younger and middle-age group also reached out for therapy. I routinely dealt with issues such as job loss, fear of losing livelihood, or unable to bear reports of largescale illness. Some people were dealing with old addiction issues while many reported new addiction patterns due to staying indoors during lockdown.

ALSO READ: Pandemic Caused Mental Trauma To Children

One good thing I saw was that psychiatric therapy is being normalised due to a surge in these cases. We have all understood that is ok to ask for support. There is no judgement around seeking mental health treatment. This was not the case earlier when a visitor to psychiatry ward would be seen as ‘mental’.

Dr Chatterji feels Covid can play mind games with the patients

Even the less privileged section and people from small towns are understanding the importance of mental health and how clinical help can lead them to a better life. It is heartening to see that people are realising the need to take care of the mental health of their children. As a society, rather than speaking to kids we should learn to listen to them.

Psychiatrists, like other members of hospital faculty, were overwhelmed with the sheer number of cases as well as the unpredictability that the pandemic ushered in. At one point of time I felt that it was important for all healthcare professionals to take good care of their own mental wellbeing, to be able to help others effectively. Every day, we saw people losing their loved ones or struggle for treatment.

The pandemic is a grey zone in the sense everything is grey or unclear and uncertain. When I moved to Australia I saw that even though the administration or medical facilities were superb, India fared better because of its close-knit community, which provided emotional support to people in need. India has more resilience as a community.

Talking to family, friends, exercising frequently and being mindful (neither living too much in the past nor in the future) are the pillars of good mental health. Of course we need to reflect on our own selves and understand what makes us happy. That is my only advice to your readers.