Covid Effects on Mental Health

Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK, suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic, will have a more serious effect on mental health in the country, than any event since the second world war (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/27/covid-poses-greatest-threat-to-mental-health-since-second-world-war). He notes that mental health effects stem directly from the disease, its social consequences and the inevitable economic fall-out resulting from the pandemic. One might give a few specific examples. Long-Covid certainly has profound effects on the nervous system and appears capable of preventing a normal, early return to an active life. The need to reduce infection rates, also means that medical treatment and nursing cannot be done in a typical fashion with a human 'face'. Social isolation (also necessary to limit transmission of the virus) can have very detrimental effects on mental health. End of life (whether Covid-19-related or not) has not been able to accommodate normal grieving processes with funerals et cetera. It is even very difficult for Psychiatrists and other mental health workers to deal directly, face-to-face with any patients (Zoom meeting are just not the same). Educational services are also massively disrupted, as is the ability of people to start or continue a career. There must be substantial increases in levels of anxiety, fear and, even, guilt in the population. None of these are conducive to mental health. Dr James reckons there may be, as many as 10 million people in the UK (with 1.5 million of these being children), who will require prolonged treatment for mental health issues, long after the pandemic is under control. Sadly, mental health has always been a Cinderella subject, in terms of its funding in the UK. Getting the necessary level of support, might be extremely difficult in a damaged economy.