Coronavirus has been a huge hurdle for services
‘Let’s harness awareness coming out of crisis’ I only have my worker that I can really talk to about how I really am, and right now the ongoing weekly contact is a lifeline
A local mental health charity has described the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as a “sledgehammer” as it scrambles to help those in need of support.
As Mental Health Awareness Week takes place this week, the Observer has been speaking to charities and health providers involved with helping some of the most vulnerable people across the region.
Among the areas of discussion were how coronavirus has changed the lives of those confronting their demons on a daily basis, as well as how the groups themselves have been forced to adjust to the new realities brought about by social isolation and lockdown.
One of those charities on the frontline is Riverside based Action in Mind, who have been providing a range of services for those going through mental health issues across Stirling for more than 35 years.
Senior social care worker Isla McKenzie has remained busy through the pandemic helping to find the right solutions to ensure they reach as many people as possible and tackle growing feelings of anxiety and social isolation.
But Isla admits Covid-19 continues to prove a significant hurdle to overcome.
She told the Observer: “Many of our clients live alone and have limited contact with other people.
“Our social care staff may be the only people regularly visiting and supporting clients and it’s the personal contact between client and staff that builds that trust that in turn enables us to help them manage their mental health better.
“Covid was a bit like a sledgehammer because we had to become more creative and innovative in how we work because of social distancing, self-isolation and shielding which meant we had to limit home support and replace it by using the phone and video link for those that have access to a tablet or computer, with the exception of clients prioritised as vulnerable.
“But then, with continued social isolation, more clients are showing anxiety especially because for them to get out of the house in the first instance was their biggest challenge.”
As part of that daily challenge, Isla accompanied one of her clients on a simple walk to the shops - a small journey, but a vital one for those cut off.
The woman, who didn’t wish to be named, told the Observer: “I thought I would manage this, having experienced some very dark and difficult times in my life.
“The longer it has gone on the more aware I am that this is very different – I only have my worker that I can really talk to about how I really am, and right now the ongoing weekly contact is a lifeline.
“Shielding is due to being in the high risk category – I so miss seeing my worker but they have responded to two urgent crises for me and though I don’t like using the phone – my worker contacts me regularly through video link, messenger and text. I feel less alone.”
Her story comes as concerns grow over a surge in mental health cases as a result of the financial and social impacts of the lockdown.
Research from the Mental Health Foundation Scotland published earlier this month revealed a third of Scottish adults surveyed in full-time work were concerned about losing their jobs, while one in six unemployed people surveyed said they had experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings during the last month.
It is figures like these that have prompted Action in Mind to launch a new early response service for those struggling with the burden brought about by the coronavirus, with the idea of allowing someone the chance to talk through their frustrations with someone who is not a friend.
The service joins the regular support on offer from talking therapies, befriending and home support, with the charity’s operations stretching as far as Callander, Balfron and Killin to ensure that no one is missed out.
But despite the doom and gloom, the charity’s executive director Helena Scott has raised hopes that wider public awareness and understanding of mental health could become an unintended consequence of the pandemic.
She said: “Mental health is still very much stigmatised and people are reluctant to seek help, men in particular.
“We’ve come a long way but still a way to go where talking about mental wellbeing is as normal as talking about a stiff shoulder or sore knee.
“And yet, since Covid-19, mental health has never had so much press as it does now – whether in print, digital or broadcast - it’s reach has been phenomenal and people are recognising and take note of self-care and mental wellbeing that we could only have dreamt about before.
“My hope is that we can harness all this awareness and sustain that same vigour for when we come out of Covid-19.
“We hear talk about how things will never quite be the same – ‘the new normal’ - keeping the focus of mental health must surely be part of that new normal.
“It must not slide off the radar.”