How will the landscape of mental health be changed by Covid-19 and what should we be

doing now to combat it?

Your goal is to write your own version of the two articles - what do YOU think Covid-19 is
doing to mental health and what do YOU think we could/should be doing about it now?

You will use the two articles to support your ideas (your assignment should make it CLEAR to
me that you actually read both articles).

Specifics:

1.Typed, double spaced

2.No more than 1,000 words
3.Grammar and spelling count!

4.DO NOT JUST SUMMARIZE WHAT THE TWO ARTICLES SAY!

Write a similar article but you tell her about what you think. Use the articles as to support your
ideas.
Typed, double spaced No more than 600-1000 (ideal)
Don’t just summarize. Don’t have to look up other articles. Quote the article if you use a quote
and put in parenthesis.

Introduction

Mental health is an essential element to our human condition. The world's governments' response
to the COVID-19 pandemic has not been efficient. Depression and anxiety are some of the
greatest health problems facing the world's population.

In times of social isolation, we are all vulnerable. But as doctor Gold rightly points out in his
article, the health care workers are certainly even more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of
social isolation because of their fears about possibly infecting their loved ones. Anxiety and
panic attacks are common. And if we add the restrictions to freedom of movement and the
increased consumption of alcoholic beverages during quarantine, we don’t have to become
experts to appreciate that this is the perfect storm for the increase in mental issues in the
population. Consequently, according to Stern, we are seeing a 1000% increase in the number of
people looking to get mental health services in comparison to last year. This is just the beginning
because the demand will only increase in the coming months since we do not even know yet how
long will the last for. Additionally, changes will not occur overnight since psychological
disorders take some time to develop.

The psychological effect of this virus is particularly evident in frontline healthcare workers.
These essential workers are probably the ones with the highest rates of anxiety and depression
due to their need to engage and care for patients who have COVID-19. They are the ones who
have probably lost a colleague in the line of duty, and it’s definitely not an irrational fear of
COVID-19. It is heartbreaking to see how these vital workers are feeling betrayed by their own
employers and the government. These workers deserve not only our recognition and respect, but
also all the psychological support that they request and require. It is not enough to just give them
a simple PPE, we must give them a “psychological” PPE.

Long-term effects are very difficult to predict. According to the CDC, COVID-19 not only
affects our lungs, but can also affect many organs that can include neurological symptoms such
as headaches, sleeping issues, and concentration difficulties. If history repeats itself, we can look
at previous pandemics to predict consequences. The article by Jacob Stern offers a comparison of
the SARS pandemic to Covid-19. And it makes an interesting but worrisome prediction. It notes
that 40% of people who survived the SARS pandemic, developed a serious psychiatric illness
such as PTSD and depression. Even more worrisome is that, as we learned in our very first
Behavioral Medicine class, less than half of people with a psychiatric illness were diagnosed and
treated by a medical professional. This means that the number of people suffering from mental
issues because of the pandemic could be much higher.

The first steps in solving the mental health issues is to really understand the true dimensions of
the COVID-19 crisis, even beyond the period where the pandemic gets finally under control. The
public health response to COVID-19 should be clear of any misinformation. Our leaders should
not contradict each other and should provide clear and accurate information to the public to
reduce uncertainty, which can erode public trust and hinder progress. Our leaders should aim to
increase mental health awareness. Mental health prevention strategies should include education,
self-care, and family support. Social support networks should work with our local communities
to help identify stressors and encourage people to seek help from mental health services.

Community outreach strategies should be implemented where mental health providers and
programs organize food deliveries for vulnerable members in the community. These programs
should also include mental and physical health concerns. For these programs to be effective and
widely available, emergency funds should be increased from the meager fraction of 1% current
allocation to mental health would be a great start.

For people with acute mental distress who are at risk for developing long term psychological
conditions, facilitating diverse and flexible access to care is very important. Community support
services should be proactive in their response, as well as big enough to support the expected
increase in demand for mental health services. Maintaining existing services and promoting new
practices that expand access and provide cost-effective mental health services to people to people
who have already developed mental disorders during the pandemic should be a priority.

We do not even know yet how long will the isolation last, but what it is clear to me is that we
need to renovate our mental health services and look for alternative ways to reach out more
people. Now more than ever, we need to implement delivery of services that addresses health
needs and reduces disparities. We can even turn the COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to
improve mental health care for all.