Corona Blues

A Lot has been written and discussed on the mortality and economic effect of the Corona Virus. While these aspects are the statistical top of the ‘impact list’, murmurs of the psychological / mental health issues have started to creep up and demand attention. The sparse literature available on the mental health consequences of epidemics relates more to the sequelae of the disease itself than to the aftermath of life in social distancing like scenarios. However, large-scale disasters, whether traumatic (insurgencies), natural (earthquakes), or environmental (severe air pollution), are almost always accompanied by increases in depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder and a broad range of other mental and behavioural issues.

In the context of the COVID-19, acceptance is forming around the fact that this is just the beginning and it appears likely that there will be a major increase in the mental health shock. Medical journals are on it, splicing details to offer technical addendums in all specialties engaged in combating the virus. But for the uninitiated, like me, science has always been a catalog of nature, with maths thrown in to ensure that not many understand it. This time, while one may not understand the change, we can surely feel it.

The most severe impact is obviously from direct personal suffering. Getting infected is a slide down the rabbit hole with the fear of the unknown paralysing life. Recoveries remain the ray of hope but experiences of the many who got back are yet to be analysed. Despite alarming numbers, the biggest share relates to the bulk of humanity confined to homes. Lockdowns have proved to be the only preventive option working as of now and have warranted people to drop all notions of routine and stick to a lifestyle never considered normal.

Most of us at home, after overcoming the initial hysteria of panic buying, positively comprehended the call to stay indoors. As time progressed, the bliss of solitude, clean air and togetherness transformed into an uneasy reaction of habit withdrawals. Aspects considered a given like eating out, travel and socialising converted into yearnings, the suppression of which gave rise to a newer emotional self. There is some data on the psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on patients and health-care workers, but not much is known about the long-term mental health effects on ordinary citizens. Looking around, age related issues come to light.

For children and adolescents, such closures mean a lack of access to the resources and interactions they usually had through schools and now when schools are closed, they have lost a predictable anchor in life. College and university students are stressed about clustered hostel life and cancellation of anticipated events such as exchange studies and graduation ceremonies. Some even lost their part-time jobs as local businesses closed. Students in their final year are anxious about the job market and the financial burden of student loans. Across the bridge, breadwinners know well that ‘uncertainty’ is the softest word to describe the prevailing job market and the old retirees not only worry about health care but also the devaluation of their savings in the commercial market.  Now imagine, a combination of the above group, cooped inside a home, for a prolonged duration. Even the most resilient will show vulnerability, sooner of later.

Populations grouped as nations, expect their leadership and governance structures to alleviate them out of such crisis. Members of this governance combine like the state administration, police, doctors, health workers, conservancy staff, military etc thus transform into a duality of soldiering national service as well as being normal family members with same issues like all other citizens. Everyday, when a country as large and diverse as ours functions and survives, it is these elements of the nation’s steel frame that go out and ensure we get to fight another day.

The role of communication and information flow is huge in manoeuvring thought processes in such times. Inter personal communication primarily tends to focus on sharing of anxieties or the pretend of being ok. People seek hope and search for similarity of experiences from others to assume belongingness to common emotional groups. The media, despite getting an increased time-share from people’s lives, remains bound to corporation rules with news genre continuously bombarding sad numbers and failures and entertainment media catering to the doomsday theme of programming. You can check any news channel and it will have the omnipresent ticker of COVID affected and deaths.  Netflix will have Contagion trending and Whatsapp shares will have a serious helping of videos promoting gloom. 

As governments race to contain the corona virus, it is important to realise actions the society can take to mitigate the behavioural health impact of the pandemic and economic crisis. For every rupee spent on engaging and healing common mental disorders, a ten rupee return can be realised as improved health and productivity. Common sense initiatives like strengthening community prevention, integrating behavioural and physical health services and addressing unemployment and income disparities are the simplest ways forward to initiate and accelerate efforts towards reducing long-term psychosocial risks. A vital step here would be to leverage data and technology as predictive analytics to channelise prevention along with the use of AI and digital platforms (tele medicines & digital therapeutics) for connecting consumers seamlessly to evidence and measurement based care.

Every time I sat to blog this topic, the flow went through the rigours of reality and how we could engage it with the little we know. But the never-say-die inside, made me conclude the belief that our resilience has always been bigger than our threats. It is vital that communities seeking a “new normal” draw from their inherent strength and compassion to recognise, heal, and support those experiencing this human toll. As Mark Watney said in ‘The Martian’, There is no magic wand; all we can do is get to work.  You solve one problem and you solve the next one and then the next. And if you solve enough problems, you get to come home.

Can’t give up. Lets win.