The Corona outbreak is the biggest threat to mental health since World War II

Corona’s psychological repercussions are dangerous for children and the elderly (Getty)

The UK’s chief psychiatrist, Adrian James, expects the effect of Virus to continue Corona For years after the epidemic ended, and that the resulting crisis Virus outbreak It poses the greatest threat to the mental health of humans since World War II due to its social and economic consequences.

The British newspaper “The Guardian” quoted health experts as saying that about 10 million people, including 1.5 million children, need Psychological aid As a direct result of the Coronavirus crisis, something that British society did not suffer as an example in World War II. In the face of the bombing, the government was afraid that the population would develop a so-called “shelter mentality”, which could make workers anxious to the point of undermining national production.

Mental health experts confirm that the world needs a plan that guarantees those who develop mental illness, or see that the current conditions are getting worse, rapid access to effective support in the coming years. It was observed reduced access to Mental health services At the beginning of the epidemic, people fear clinics and hospitals, or think that treatment is not available, but recent months have witnessed a clear increase in the number of people seeking help.

The data of the Health and Social Care Information Center in the United Kingdom reveals that up to 10 million people will need new or additional mental health support as a direct result of the epidemic, and a study issued by the center found that it is expected that 1.3 million people who have not previously suffered from psychological problems will need To treating the anxiety they were exposed to due to the epidemic, and that the majority of these people suffer from symptoms of mild or moderate depression, and there are 1.8 million people who need treatment for major depressive diseases.

According to the study, there are 1.5 million children at risk of anxiety and depression resulting from worsening social isolation, quarantine, hospitalization, or the death of a family member, and the numbers may rise when the full impact on societies becomes clear, especially on the marginalized, ethnic minorities, and inmates. Care homes, and people with disabilities.

The former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Simon Wesley, said that the number of new patients in psychiatric hospitals in 1940 was less than in 1939, while the official suicide numbers did not increase, and there were no long-term effects on mental health unlike what is produced by The Corona epidemic, whose control restrictions, especially staying at home, have reduced physical contact, which is psychologically beneficial, as it reduces depression rates.

There are many reasons that increase the severity of the suffering with the decline of the epidemic, including sudden death, as many people deal with complex reactions related to grief after losing their loved ones because of the virus, and they are often unable to bid them farewell, which increases the emergence of psychological problems, There is a group that will suffer psychologically as a result of the symptoms of injury, and those who suffer from uncertainty about employment or housing, and economic hardship in general.

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