speech about covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of people around the world. Similar to the past respiratory viral epidemics, such as the SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and the influenza epidemics, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in different population groups, including the healthcare workers, general public, and the patients and quarantined individuals. The Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee of the United Nations recommends that the core principles of mental health support during an emergency are "do no harm, promote human rights and equality, use participatory approaches, build on existing resources and capacities, adopt multi-layered interventions and work with integrated support systems." COVID-19 is affecting people's social connectedness, their trust in people and institutions, their jobs and incomes, as well as imposing a huge toll in terms of anxiety and worry.
COVID-19 increased the numbers for mental health disorders to the general public.
COVID-19 also adds to the complexity of substance use disorders (SUDs) as it disproportionately affects people with SUD due to accumulated social, economic, and health inequities. The health consequences of SUDs (for example, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, type 2 diabetes, immunosuppression and central nervous system depression, and psychiatric disorders) and the associated environmental challenges (e.g., housing instability, unemployment, and criminal justice involvement) increase risk for COVID-19. COVID-19 public health mitigation measures (i.e., physical distancing, quarantine and isolation) can exacerbate loneliness, mental health symptoms, withdrawal symptoms and psychological trauma. Confinement rules, unemployment and fiscal austerity measures during and following the pandemic period can affect the illicit drug market and drug use patterns.
Causes of mental health issues during COVID-19 pandemic
An exhausted anesthesiologist physician in Pesaro, Italy, March 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused stress, anxiety and worry for many individuals, arising both from the disease itself and from response measures such as social distancing and lockdowns. Common causes of psychological stress during pandemics include, fear of falling ill and dying, avoiding health care due to fear of being infected while in care, fear of losing work and livelihoods, fear of being socially excluded, fear of being placed in quarantine, feeling of powerlessness in protecting oneself and loved ones, fear of being separated from loved ones and caregivers, refusal to care for vulnerable individuals due to fear of infection, feelings of helplessness, lack of self-esteem to do anything in daily life, boredom, loneliness, and depression due to being isolated, and fear of re-living the experience of a previous pandemic.
In addition to these problems, COVID-19 can cause additional psychological responses, such as, risk of being infected when the transmission mode of COVID-19 is not 100% clear, common symptoms of other health problems being mistaken for COVID-19, increased worry about children being at home alone (during school shutdowns, etc.) while parents have to be at work, and risk of deterioration of physical and mental health of vulnerable individuals if care support is not in place.
Frontline workers, such as doctors and nurses may experience additional mental health problems. Stigmatization towards working with COVID-19 patients, stress from using strict biosecurity measures (such as physical strain of protective equipment, need for constant awareness and vigilance, strict procedures to follow, preventing autonomy, physical isolation making it difficult to provide comfort to the sick), higher demands in the work setting, reduced capacity to use social support due to physical distancing and social stigma, insufficient capacity to give self-care, insufficient knowledge about the long-term exposure to individuals infected with COVID-19, and fear that they could pass infection to their loved ones can put frontline workers in additional stress.
HOPE IT HELPS :)
PA BRAINLIEST PLS
