U.N. warns of global mental health crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic

[snoop1130]

U.N. warns of global mental health crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic

By Kate Kelland

 

FILE PHOTO: "Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning" as depicted at the Peace Monument in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the pandemic of COVID-19, United Nations health experts said on Thursday.

 

"The isolation, the fear, the uncertainty, the economic turmoil - they all cause or could cause psychological distress," said Devora Kestel, director of the World Health Organization's (WHO) mental health department.

 

Presenting a U.N. report and policy guidance on COVID-19 and mental health, Kestel said an upsurge in the number and severity of mental illnesses is likely, and governments should put the issue "front and centre" of their responses.

 

"The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently," she told reporters at a briefing.

 

The report highlighted several regions and sections of societies as vulnerable to mental distress - including children and young people isolated from friends and school, healthcare workers who are seeing thousands of patients infected with and dying from the new coronavirus.

 

Emerging studies and surveys are already showing COVID-19's impact on mental health globally. Psychologists say children are anxious and increases in cases of depression and anxiety have been recorded in several countries.

 

Domestic violence is rising, and health workers are reporting an increased need for psychological support.

 

Reuters last week reported from interviews with doctors and nurses in the United States who said either they or their colleagues had experienced a combination of panic, anxiety, grief, numbness, irritability, insomnia and nightmares.

 

Outside of the health sector, the WHO report said many people are distressed by the immediate health impacts and the consequences of physical isolation, while many others are afraid of infection, dying, and losing family members.

 

Millions of people are facing economic turmoil, having lost or being at risk of losing their income and livelihoods, it added. And frequent misinformation and rumours about the pandemic and deep uncertainty about how long it will last are making people feel anxious and hopeless about the future.

 

It outlined action points for policy-makers to aim "to reduce immense suffering among hundreds of millions of people and mitigate long-term social and economic costs to society".

 

These included redressing historic under-investment in psychological services, providing "emergency mental health" via remote therapies such as tele-counselling for frontline health workers, and working proactively with people known to have depression and anxiety, and with those at high risk of domestic violence and acute impoverishment.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-14

 

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[rumak]

they're coming to get meeeeeeeeeeeeee

[NCC1701A]

7 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the pandemic of COVID-19, United Nations health experts said on Thursday.

snowflakes. try living in Hua Hin. 

[Traubert]

I'm saying nothing...........

[DoctorG]

Deaths from suicide, starvation, and delayed medical procedures may well exceed the direct deaths from COVID19 itself.

Locking down the young and healthy might prove to be the totally wrong move.

[PETERTHEEATER]

It's already here. One TV member recently posted that he was going crazy not being able to watch UK TV.........

[rumak]

2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Deaths from suicide, starvation, and delayed medical procedures may well exceed the direct deaths from COVID19 itself.

Locking down the young and healthy might prove to be the totally wrong move.

the people dictating to everyone are almost certainly not the "young and healthy".

But they are very experienced at controlling the narrative....

We have been heading in this direction for many many years.   The amazing technology has

just sped up the process.

[Tropposurfer]

Yep I definitely qualify for a DSM 5 diagnosis ????

[NotYourBusiness]

Let's be clear. Any global mental health crisis isn't due to the pandemic. It's due to the LOCKDOWN.

[Mama Noodle]

Cool cool cool. Let's just keep on wrecking the global economy and forcing people to stay home and go destitute. 

[Syduan]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

LONDON (Reuters) - A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease

Where?

[Thingamabob]

It has just been revealed that this media 'pandemic' has only affected a quarter of one percent of the UK population, meanwhile the lockdown is ruining thousands of British  lives. Stupid beyond belief.

[Krataiboy]

No fun being a nipper these days. If climate change doesn't get you, the virus will. No wonder they're feeling stressed. When I was a kid, losing your marbles meant nothing worse than coming off second best in a game of ringer.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Krataiboy

[thaibeachlovers]

On 5/14/2020 at 10:42 PM, snoop1130 said:

A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the pandemic of COVID-19, United Nations health experts said on Thursday.

Again, the disease did NOT force people into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the pandemic of COVID-19. That is entirely down to government lockdowns, IMO. They did it far as I know without any referenda, or even acts of parliament, so they are fully responsible for all the consequences.

 

There has been a crisis in mental health ever since it was decided it was better to throw all the mental hospital patients onto the streets with no support several decades ago, but they've managed to keep that off the public radar as most are not affected.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

No fun being a nipper these days. If climate change doesn't get you, the virus will. No wonder they're feeling stressed. When I was a kid, losing your marbles meant nothing worse than coming off second best in a game of ringer.

 

 

In the latest school kid protest ( no idea what they are about other than an excuse not to go to school ) in NZ they had to make it a virtual protest because of lockdown. Perhaps there is a silver lining to the lockdown after all.

 

 I wonder what the teen pregnancy rate will be when they finally get to see the latest crush?

[Chomper Higgot]

16 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

It has just been revealed that this media 'pandemic' has only affected a quarter of one percent of the UK population, meanwhile the lockdown is ruining thousands of British  lives. Stupid beyond belief.

The nation goes into lockdown to prevent a virus spreading and killing hundreds of thousands of people, the lockdown is effective and stems the spread of the disease.

 

Now you trot in claiming the success of the lockdown is an argument for no lockdown.

 

You got one thing right.

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

Cool cool cool. Let's just keep on wrecking the global economy and forcing people to stay home and go destitute. 

Seems to me that there is a groundswell of realisation building that lockdowns were not the answer and only destroy far more lives than saved. Whether that translates to punishment in elections remains to be seen.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The nation goes into lockdown to prevent a virus spreading and killing hundreds of thousands of people, the lockdown is effective and stems the spread of the disease.

 

Now you trot in claiming the success of the lockdown is an argument for no lockdown.

 

You got one thing right.

You don't know that hundreds of thousands were saved. Anyway, the same could have been done by isolating those ACTUALLY at risk, and allowing herd immunity to take place. Once herd immunity was successful the chances of the susceptible being infected would be low.

Because of the lockdown, herd immunity has not been reached, and the at risk will never be safe till it is.

 

People die of poverty, so expect increased domestic violence, suicide and deaths related to poverty. How many suicides are justified?

[Chomper Higgot]

35 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You don't know that hundreds of thousands were saved. Anyway, the same could have been done by isolating those ACTUALLY at risk, and allowing herd immunity to take place. Once herd immunity was successful the chances of the susceptible being infected would be low.

Because of the lockdown, herd immunity has not been reached, and the at risk will never be safe till it is.

 

People die of poverty, so expect increased domestic violence, suicide and deaths related to poverty. How many suicides are justified?

The boys and girls at UCL put that line of argument to bed already.

 

Welcome on board to the realization that poverty is a cause of violence, suicide and deaths, just like it was when austerity was causing the poverty.

[sharksy]

We are locking down the healthy to protect the vulnerable.  Stopping mother nature clearing out the weak.

Hardly anyone under 60 who had no underlying health conditions has died.

I understand, as a society we have a duty to protect everyone, but so many people have already lost their jobs+businesses, governments are in massive debt, this cannot be the correct way out, and we have only just begun.

[nattaya09]

On 5/15/2020 at 3:23 AM, Thingamabob said:

"..........meanwhile the lockdown is ruining thousands of British  lives. Stupid beyond belief.

millions even

[timendres]

On 5/16/2020 at 7:41 AM, Chomper Higgot said:

The boys and girls at UCL put that line of argument to bed already.

Oh?

[thaibeachlovers]

35 minutes ago, timendres said:

Oh?

Might help if he said WHAT the guys at UCL said or gave a link. I have no idea what they said.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, nattaya09 said:

millions even

Indeed. Every person/ family that is forced into poverty stops spending what money they do have on unessentials, which means that thousands of businesses that cater to unessentials lose income. It doesn't just affect those in actual poverty. If the money merry go round ends everyone suffers.

The argument that giving money to the poor means that it just goes into the economy as they don't save it only goes far as food, rent and health etc. It doesn't support the bookshops or the hairdressers etc.