Mental health during COVID-19. What is our answer to it?

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year, one of the deepest fears of humanity in our interconnected world – isolation – flourishes. A worldwide scale of anxiety, loneliness, and depression, associated with the uncertainty regarding the possible duration and discovery of a cure/vaccine, rampant job loss, unemployment, economic crisis, social isolation, and unpredictable death has already had a substantial effect on people’s mental health. Research shows that about half of the population has been or is facing mental health issues since the outbreak.

Even before the pandemic, we had a world mental health crisis (970.81 million people were reported to have a mental health disorder in 2017. And these are only those registered!). What happened during COVID is unprecedented. And this ongoing stress cuts across all the categories: age, socioeconomic status, gender and is worse for some already vulnerable populations (elderly, poor, those with pre-existing physical/mental health problems). Researchers worldwide are investigating the causes and impacts of this stress, and some fear that the deterioration in mental health could stay long after the pandemic is over. Ultimately, scientists hope to use the myriads of collected data to link the impact of particular control measures to the changes in people’s well-being to prevent the same mistakes in future pandemic cases.

Still, analyzing the current situation, we see that working from home caused an increased stress level, complete lockdown exacerbated relationships and increased the risk of interpersonal violence and alcohol abuse. Separation from others led to the feeling of loneliness, and the individuals who lost their loved ones were left to grieve without traditional mourning and burial practices. Moreover, a growing number of healthcare workers and frontliners experience PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and some children (as young people are more prone to mental disorders than the elderly) seemed to become a little too fine with the life inside the bubble (resulting in a growing number of child agoraphobes).

It seems that on top of the pandemic, we are facing an epidemic on our collective psychological well-being, and for some people, COVID puts a greater strain on their mental health rather than on a physical one.

Thankfully, simple, at-home tweaks can work wonders to improve mental health. Exercise to reduce depression, meditate to calm yourself down, focus on what is within your control, take care of your nutrition and sleep, reduce listening or watching unreliable news, and connect with your loved ones remotely for qualitative and reassuring conversations.

By the way, talking about meditation, thanks to digital health technologies, it has become more accessible through apps and quantifiable with smart headbands, like Muse S, BrainLink Pro, and NeoRhythm.

These smart ‘guys’ scream sci-fi, although Muse S could almost be mistaken for a sports sweatband due to its soft fabric finish which makes the device very comfortable to use. NeoRhythm, opposed to the first two which are primarily brain-sensing headbands, is a brain-stimulating one. It achieves this through pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) technology to emit frequencies to which the brain synchronizes. Such magnetic field therapy has also been employed to relieve symptoms of back pain, depression and even tested by NASA. Its effectiveness was same proven by 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.

Apart from the devices, there’s also great software. It offers a lot in terms of meditation from guided courses through heart meditation to timed sessions. First – get acquainted with multiple sensors to determine your brainwaves, stillness, heart rate, and breathing pattern. Second – pair the band with the companion app, choose a desired “mode”, and slip it on your head. For BrainLink Pro, if you have some spare money, you could even pair the headband to the company’s “Mind Control Series”. These include robots and a book lamp that you can control through your brainwaves alone by focusing or relaxing. It is quite frankly a cool concept. 

Moreover, after each session, you’ll get a summary of your results showing your brain’s electroencephalogram which correlates to the active or relaxed status of your mind. These summaries are gamified in a sense that results come with stats and awards that you unlock during your session, such as by staying still or being calmer for an extended period. Personally, I find it to be a great way to keep track of your progress and to know where to improve.

Another game-changer is telepsychology, as, on the one hand, an immensely growing number of people are willing to start or continue their mental therapy, but on the other hand – psychologists and coaches are unable to provide services due to lockdown measures. Thus, the obvious answer is remote counseling.

And here medical professionals made a huge step forward. Doctors and counselors moved over to online sessions with a previously unimaginable speed, taking courses and experimenting platforms in a matter of days. In a study recently published in American Psychology, researcher Brad Pierce from Virginia Commonwealth University investigated the magnitude of the changes in mental health due to COVID-19. 

“Telepsychology is different from in-person therapy. Each method has advantages and disadvantages over the other” – Pierce noted. “For example, it may be helpful to have a patient’s friend or family member present in a distressing session, or they may find the distress easier to tolerate within the familiarity of their own home. Telepsychology can make it easier to facilitate these situations.”

However, psychologists are trained to notice non-verbal cues like foot tapping, fidgeting, or body positioning. Many of these cues are missed via telepsychology: simply because the camera is often capturing images of the participants from the shoulders up. “This means a psychologist must rely more heavily on other cues such as slurred speech, unkempt hair, or noticing their patient rocking in their seat.”

As a result of COVID, the demand for distance psychological care has increased tremendously. And psychologists did their best to meet the changed requirements and learn how to use the technology. They attended additional training, purchased equipment, adjusted some practice policies – all to facilitate telehealth and telepsychology.

Interesting enough is that in 2017 only a little over 20% of psychologists used telepsychology for patient treatment. It is rather frustrating when you consider how often people use digital networks to attend to the financial, educational, and social aspects of their lives. Telepsychology attracted only about 7% of patient treatment before the COVID-19 pandemic. But after 2020, study researchers were shocked to see how quickly telepsychology was adopted. The shift from 7% to more than 85% represents a lot of heavy lifting in a very short time. 

But is it the future?

In principle, yes. As a result of the pandemic, there is now more flexibility in the system about the use of different methods. On the other hand, personal meetings and assessments of the individual non-verbal signs and mental health are vital in psychology. But as you see, “it all depends on how we look at things and not how they are in themselves.”

At least that’s what Carl Gustav Jung said.