‘Worst is still to come’ as mental health issues surge
CORONA CRISIS: AUTHOR TURNS
LEADING psychologist Stephen Watkins has warned the “worst is yet to come” with numbers suffering mental health problems expected to rocket.
The Mymind cognitive therapist revealed he has already seen a huge surge in people seeking help for depression and other issues since the lockdown started.
He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “The thing about depression is that for the vast majority of people who have it, it’s a very isolating illness.
“It motivates you to cut yourself off and not engage with people. So with the lockdown there is a whole load of people who are introvert who did enjoy the isolation of it without the need or expectation to go out and socialise.
“But after an extended period of, ‘I don’t need to go out and socialise’, it turns into, ‘I can’t go out and socialise’.
“And then that becomes a very negative sustaining habit where when lockdown ends it can be entirely possible that you will find it difficult to go out.”
And when asked if the numbers suffering with depression will rocket, he said: “Yes, very much so – for a number of different factors.
“A lot of people are hoping that in a couple of weeks or months that their lives will go back to normal, they are not really envisioning there’s going to have to be a new normal. The realisation of that is going to be very difficult for people.
“I have seen an increase in appointments and, funnily enough, couples sessions because you are trapped with your partner 24/7.
“A number of studies have found that working at home for an extended period can be very difficult. It’s a case of when you are at work you’re in a work mind but when you are working from home it’s very hard to concentrate on work.”
Meanwhile, Dubliner Aimee-louise Carton, 25, has created mental health app Keepyappy following her own struggles.
The entrepreneur turned her life around after hitting rock bottom and attempting suicide.
She said: “It has 10 different tools to help you take control of your mental health on a daily basis. The thing that nearly killed me wasn’t my physical health but my mental health.”
Watkins
DEPRESSION
My last hair extension fell out, but it’s not the worst thing happening MARIAN KEYES LIMERICK YESTERDAY