COVID mental health issues can hurt us in the long term
Mental illness is common in America, yet as a country our approach to and treatment of these conditions has been abysmal. In 2019, one in five U.S. adults were living with a mental illness and one in ten youth suffered major bouts of depression.
Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death and accounted for approximately 41,000 American lives lost annually, more than twice as many as by homicide. Perhaps most alarming, however, is the fact that suicides often are related to a psychiatric disease with an unmet need for treatment. So why aren’t people seeking care and treatment? In one word: cost.
Mental-health care and treatment are expensive. America’s unfortunate reality is that citizens most in need of mental-health care are often unable to pay for it, and this burden is disproportionately high among ethnic and racial minorities.
And this discouraging picture of our country’s mental-health situation existed before a novel coronavirus took the world by storm. While the physical health impacts of COVID-19 have been catastrophic, the disease also is taking a hidden toll on our mental health, further stressing an already fractured American mental-health care system.
Day care and early education programs have been suspended, leading to months of stay-athome orders and social deprivation among children. Early-life social interactions are an important part of the development process and many parents worry that prolonged isolation could have lasting impacts.
Teens and college students face their own set of unique stressors. They’re missing out on important coming-of-age milestones such as prom and graduation and mourning the loss of these developmental achievements. Depression has become a serious mental-health consequence.
Working-age adults are navigating the stress of a new telecommuting experience and trying to manage work-life balance, a particular challenge when everyone else is at home with you. I have been working remotely for five years, but even as a selfproclaimed working-from-home pro, doing this effectively alongside my spouse’s booming voice has presented a new set of challenges. I cannot begin to fathom how overwhelmed parents must feel.
I also recognize my good fortune. Health care workers are by far the most deeply impacted by COVID-19, managing long, emotional workdays, filled with anxiety and fear. And other essential workers also must face risk in order to earn a living.
And for older adults and those with serious underlying medical conditions, their mental health is jeopardized by the very measures designed to protect them against their increased risk of severe infection. Many nursing and assisted-living homes have restricted or banned visitor access, leading to grief, anxiety, stress, loneliness and exacerbation of longstanding cognitive disorders.
We must recognize that mental and physical health are interconnected. Chronic stress contributes to serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental disorders. Yes: Stress literally can kill you.
If we focus solely on our physical health, we are effectively robbing Peter to pay Paul. If not adequately addressed, this approach will manifest in long-term, widespread consequences for Americans of all ages.
Stacy Endres-dighe is a research epidemiologist at RTI International and a doctoral candidate in the epidemiology division at The Ohio State University College of Public Health.