‘My people are struggling’
How the pandemic has hit the mental wellbeing of Ma¯ ori
Covid-19 has been “really tough” on the mental wellbeing of Ma¯ori and has impacted its culture “quite severely”, Ma¯ori leaders and health experts say.
A Tauranga Moana iwi chief executive says regulations introduced to combat Covid have undermined Ma¯ori culture by no longer being able to do “a hongi or a handshake”.
And a Rotorua-based Ma¯ori health leader says police callouts relating to mental health had risen since the start of the pandemic.
It comes as NZME launched a major editorial project, Great Minds, exploring the growing impact of mental health and anxiety on Kiwis and how we can improve our wellbeing.
Nga¯i Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley said Covid had changed the way kaupapa Ma¯ori operated “quite severely”.
“Something as simple as a hongi or a handshake has to all be dispensed with . . . it undermines the culture.”
Stanley said Covid had particularly affected single Ma¯ori.
“When you’re single and you’re living on your own and you’re forced into a situation where you’re isolating . . . our people do it really hard.”
He said there was “a lot of fear and issues going on”, particularly with kauma¯tua and kuia who were “quite upset” about the impact of Covid, especially if they were immunocompromised.
Stanley said there was a “nonrecognition” of Ma¯ori practices in mental health.
“Having a whanau-ora type treatment centre is actually invaluable in our society.”
Te Mana Hauora o Te Arawa chairman Michael Naera said the pandemic had been “really tough” on the mental well-being of Ma¯ori, particularly with managing anxiety, depression and loneliness.
Naera, who has previously expressed concern about a “second pandemic” in the mental health crisis, said there had been a rise in mental health-related police callouts.
“That tells me that my people are struggling.”
Naera said wha¯nau making calls related to psychotic episodes were having to wait until the next day to be seen - a slower response than precovid.
Naera described a psychotic episode as someone with “severe mental distress” or who had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia or bipolar.
Covid-19 had impacted the wellbeing of wha¯nau, which led to some slipping into a “dark hole”, taking it out on their wha¯nau or destroying their home because they had reached “breaking point”.
Nationally, Naera said it was time to revisit the He Ara Oranga report, a Government inquiry into mental health and addiction that recommended specific changes to improve the approach to mental health.
“When Covid-19 occurred, I think everything to do with mental health was put to the side and the virus was put to the front.
“I think they now need to push that report to the front and to review that report to make sure that services are available, that wait times are reduced.”
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Phil Taikato acknowledged
NZME’S campaign as mental illness had a “severe impact” on people’s lives in the rohe.
Taikato said mental health-related events had been increasing year on year for the past five years.
The annual New Zealand Police report for 2020/2021 said nationally, police attended 70,225 events involving a person having a mental health crisis or threatening or attempting suicide. This was a 10 per cent increase from the previous year.
“Demand in these areas continues to grow, which requires our staff to prioritise and manage the competing demands in real time.”
But the positive of this was that those who were displaying mental health challenges were put together and provided with the right services, he said.
The Ministry of Health was approached for comment.