COVID stress could increase mental health issues, therapist warns

WESTERN BUREAU:

Unless there is some form of reprieve soon from the devastating impact of COVID-19, more persons will face mental health issues, noted respected western Jamaica-based family therapist Dr Beverly Scott.

With the third wave of the virus plunging the country into its worst phase yet, many are finding it difficult to cope. And after being in a chokehold for over a year, many people are now overwhelmed with COVID fatigue – depression, loneliness, lack of motivation, exhaustion and isolation.

Now the country has been placed under a seven-day lockdown to try and control the spread of a virus that has so far infected over 60,000 Jamaicans, and killed more than 1,300, which the experts believe will only exacerbate the mental health crisis.

“For those who have to go out there each day and eke out a living from hustling or whatever else they do, the lockdown is going to be devastating for them. If you are locked down on Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of the working week, that alone will cause anxiety and panic in human beings, not just families,” said Scott.

Urging families to create their own internal support structure to help them cope, she added, “All families have some members who are stronger than other members. I believe that those persons who are stronger have to get the family together and see how best they can discuss how to go through the crisis.”

NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

In recent weeks, there has been an explosion in COVID-19 deaths and infections in the west, to include as many as 39 persons dying in Westmoreland in a mere eight days. With each new day bringing more discouraging numbers, it would appear that the medical infrastructure in the region is on the verge of collapsing.

Earlier this week, nurses at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in Westmoreland buckled under pressure from long hours of continuous work without any break. It took the encouragement of Eric Clarke, chairman of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), to convince them to soldier on as the powers that be seek to find ways to address their plight.

“You are talking about working 16 hours a day. They can’t even find time to stop for lunch,” said Clarke, in describing the dire situation facing the nurses, one of whom said she felt like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

With more uncertainty coming to the fore since news surfaced that Jamaica has recorded 22 cases of the highly contagious Delta strain of the coronavirus, Scott fears the added worry could lead to other mental issues.

“With the Delta variant of COVID-19 that has been announced, people are getting uncertain and they are not sure what is going to happen, and it is going to seem like things are getting worse. When you are thrown in unusual situations, the usual reaction is panic, anxiety, mistrust, suspicion, and all other sorts of emotional responses,” noted Scott.

“Having thought we were going to get over the pandemic, only to hear that persons who got their vaccinations are prime targets for spreading the virus, it is creating confusion and chaos in the mind. We are going to have more people breaking down and presenting with emotional problems.”

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING

Like Scott, senior lecturer at The University of the West Indies, Dr Christopher Ogunsalu, who has developed a treatment regime for persons infected with the COVID-19, using Menthol Crystal, said he is extremely concerned about the latest spike but even more so by the fact that enough effort is not being made to get people to understand the virus and how it works.

“I get the feeling that far too many persons are not properly educated about the coronavirus as it relates to transmission and treatment and that is what is creating the anxiety and fear,” said Ogunsalu, who has been working alongside a multinational team of medical professionals and the Montego Bay-based International Postgraduate Medical College on the Menthol Crystal option.

“When people have an understanding of what they are dealing with, it helps them to cope better, so more effort must go into educating the people. It will help them to cope better,” added Ogunsalu.

editorial@gleanerjm.com