The Mental Health Pandemic created by COVID-19

With all countries in the world going on lock-down for varying amounts of time, the way we live has been affected in a big way. None of us have ever lived like this and this has resulted in different kinds of problems as well.

One of the most significant impact of the COVID-19 virus has been on the mental and emotional health of people. With people struggling to cope with the routine in lock-down, the ability and resilience of people to manage their emotions has taken a big hit. As it is people find it difficult in their daily lives to manage their mental health. With the COVID pandemic it has accelerated this problem in a big way.

Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, Relationships issues are all rising fast and hard. The trend is global. If you take a look at the Google trends of the last couple of months, terms like Anxiety, Depression, Therapy, Counselling have seen a massive surge in interest. The situation is grim. Nobody knows when the pandemic will end. It has created a lot of uncertainty for everyone.

People will lose jobs, will have to close down businesses, cut down on expenses in a big way. Many people are suffering primarily due to the financial consequences of the pandemic. Finances will play a major role in affecting your mental health. Excessive stress about finances and anxiety about what’s going to happen will become common. Will I lose my job? Will I have to shut down my business? How do I fire my employees? How do I pay rent when my shop is closed? The questions are on everyone’s mind. When will life resume back to normal? The uncertainty is causing massive anxiety throughout. It’s difficult to predict anything and hence its become difficult to plan for the future.

The two most common problems that are becoming evident are rising anxiety and loneliness. Anxiety because there is constant worry about the future. Because we are spending more time with ourselves we cannot escape our thoughts. We have not been in a situation where we have to live with our own selves alone for such a prolonged period of time. That is causing havoc inside our minds. How to address these emotions and thoughts is something that we need to consider quite seriously.

One of the best options available right now for everyone is to go and download a mental health app and either opt for self help or consult a therapist for counselling. And there are various apps out there. The biggest benefit is that you can do everything right through the app itself you don’t need to go anywhere. Also you can get engaged with a therapist either on chat or on call whichever is comfortable for you. Getting the required help is quite easy with these apps. Not surprisingly, the traffic to these mental health websites and apps has also seen a big surge in the past couple of months. More and more people are looking at such platforms to address the growing concern of emotional and mental wellness.

Few of the apps you can take a look at are –

1.       Aurum
2.       Calm
3.       Headspace
4.      iWILL
5.     Youper

With these many options available you can actively address your mental health. Its more important than ever to take your emotional and mental health seriously. The COVID pandemic has not just had physical health ramifications but big mental health consequences as well. Along with taking care your mind and emotions you should look out for the people around you as well.

Your family might need it, your close friends might need it. So be aware and help out your loves ones by pushing them to make use of one of these or any other online platform to take control of their mental health. The COVID pandemic might end in a few months. The mental health pandemic is here to stay. Stay safe, stay healthy.