Visions of mental health crisis may be alarmist, research shows

The last months have been filled with bleak predictions about mental health in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These predictions have been couched in apocalyptic language, with much talk of a looming “mental health crisis,” “depression time-bomb” or even an “epidemic of suicide.” Such forecasts predict an imminent mental health disaster across Canada, with worse consequences than the coronavirus pandemic itself.

But are such dystopian visions based on scientific evidence, or sensational scaremongering?

A just released Leger survey of more than 1,500 adult Canadians give some preliminary answers. This survey found that only 16 per cent of Canadians rate their mental health as “bad” or “very bad” since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

In other words, the vast majority rate their mental health as “good,” “very good” or “excellent,” despite rising concerns about a second wave and further lockdowns. These findings are consistent with pre-existing research indicating that socio-economic crises can (counter-intuitively) actually promote mental health. For example, the phrase “Blitz spirit” is well-known in the United Kingdom, referring to a semi-mythical period of the Second World War when Londoners rallied together with resolution and defiance to resist the ravages of nightly Luftwaffe air raids.

This “Blitz spirit” is epitomized in the famous British wartime poster, Keep Calm and Carry On.

While some have questioned the reality of the “Blitz spirit,” research shows that psychiatric admissions actually decreased during the Blitz.

Moreover, a network of psychiatric clinics that were set up to cater to the expected mental health casualties of the Blitz were closed due to a lack of patients, indicating that the Luftwaffe raids did not trigger an epidemic of mental illness.

More recently, a large-scale European study surprisingly found an overall decrease in depressive symptoms after the Global Financial Crisis across 19 of the 21 countries studied (Spain and Cyprus being the exceptions). These findings imply the repercussions of the Global Financial Crisis were not uniformly negative and that doomsday predictions about an impending mental health crisis due to COVID-19 may not be warranted.

These findings raise the question: What factors promote mental health during a socio-economic crisis such as COVID-19? The existing research points to some surprising answers.

First, work is a source of purpose and meaning for most people, but can also engender significant amounts of stress. The “work from home” directives associated with COVID-19 will have provided a welcome break from a stressful work environment for many, as well as less time commuting and more quality time with immediate family, all of which has been linked to positive mental health.

Second, research indicates that people tend to cut back on unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking and junk food during socio-economic crises, often as a cost-cutting measure.

Contrariwise, people are more likely to exercise outdoors and obtain adequate sleep due to reduced traffic, which can also mean less pollution and fewer accidents. All this can improve physical health, which is inextricably linked to mental health.

Third, crises such as COVID-19 can engender their own type of “Blitz spirit,” uniting people in a collective experience and common cause. Indeed, a Hong Kong study found that the SARS crisis engendered widespread increases in social support from family and friends as well as increased attention to mental health issues per se across society.

To be sure, COVID-19 has created considerable anxiety and insecurity across Canada, and support and resources should be available for those in need.

But apocalyptic visions of a looming mental health crisis may be erroneously alarmist.

For some, the ongoing crisis will cause mental health woes, particularly the newly unemployed and those in financial difficulties. But for others, it may provide a muchneeded breathing space and an opportunity to rethink priorities.

Only time will tell the true longterm impact on society as a whole.