The Pandemic is brewing a mental health tsunami, are we ready for it?

We have been witnessing the catastrophic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic across the world. As of yesterday, 216 MM people have fallen sick to the virus and 4.5 MM have unfortunately passed away. These folks were someone’s family, friend, or colleagues and while time heals scars, the continuing surge of cases in many countries does not let the wounds heal a bit. International Labor Organization, in its initial estimates in April 2020, stated that the world may see 30 MM job losses because of the pandemic. Just for a perspective the Great recession and meltdown of 2008 saw 25 MM retrenchments.

Sectors after sectors are getting impacted, be it travel, retail, manufacturing, or agriculture; as global supply chains got disrupted and demand for some sectors hit south words, there were very few sectors except for the COVID related healthcare industry which saw normality.

Governments and societies have been grappling with a choice of letting people die of the pandemic as healthcare systems choke up or go for strict lockdowns which chokes up the economic systems. Both have long term consequences.

Since the last 11 days, I am sitting at home in a lockdown, as Sri Lanka struggles with newer variants of the virus in full rage. I couldn’t be more thankful to the Almighty, the frontline workers and the Health Care system around the world who have relentlessly worked for the last 17 months, to keep us safe and healthy, even at the cost of their own lives. But it also made me ponder about the unseen consequences of this painful phase of our lives.

Life as we know it is no more the same. I don’t know if it ever will be. The deep scars will take generations to heal, and the mental health consequences are already showing up across the world. A study done by Leo Sher, a Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an authority on psychobiology, Psychiatry and suicidal behavior, points towards a deep impact which will be felt for a long time.

Quoting his research on the subject * “Studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of depressive, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders in vulnerable populations including individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders and people who reside in high COVID-19 prevalence areas. Stress-related psychiatric conditions including mood and substance use disorders are associated with suicidal behavior”.

While a lot of attention has gone in providing healthcare to those infected or in preventing the spread of the virus, very little effort has gone to address the issue of mental health tsunami arising out of it.

Recently, Naomi Osaka, the reigning US open (Women’s) champion, opted out of French Open citing mental health issues. She was fined for not attending the mandatory press conferences. Similarly, Simone Biles, winner of 4 gold medals in the Rio Olympics pointed her inability to continue at Tokyo, acknowledging her mental health issues. I salute these athletes who are role models, for coming out on this subject which is still seen in negative light across several societies.

As human beings we want to brush the painful part under the carpet and behave that everything is normal. There is nothing wrong in that and, I was thrilled to see normal crowds in some of the recent sporting events. But the dirt under the carpet will have to come out some day, and it will have its own impact. As a society we will need to acknowledge the impact of this pandemic on each one of us. We need to be okay to say that we are not okay if that’s the case. I shudder to imagine the plight of so many who can’t come out to seek help. Societies need to understand that we need to come out of this together. We will need expert help and the worrying part is that there are not many experts out there. The Eastern world has seen mental health as a taboo subject and hence you don’t even see many medical students opting for a psychiatry course at the medical school.

While the Governments and Societies need to do their part, what can the corporate world and brands do about it? The first will be to acknowledge that things are not normal. There are people who need help, and the ecosystem should enable them to come out to ask for support. Like schools have counsellors, we may need expert counsellors in large organizations.

?Brands have played a large role in defining who we are. Ever since human civilization has evolved, we express ourselves with the brands we associate with. The brands enjoy our love, trust, and patronage and in return they become part of our everyday lives solving big and small problems, happy occasions and to a great extent our identity.

As friends of our consumers, Brands need to acknowledge the challenges our patrons face. Yes, we can remind them of good times, but that is not enough for helping them tide over the bad ones.

Brands should be genuine and behave with empathy. Its time to acknowledge the mental health issues and join the conversation, bringing in experts on the subject. We should collaborate, if need be, with partners and competitors as this challenge might be beyond our abilities.

The future generations will judge us on how we handled the COVID crisis, both in the areas of physical and mental wellbeing. Yes, stopping the virus spread is critical, but so is to ensure that we quickly build shelters, dikes, and flood walls to stop the mental health tsunami, which is looming up in the horizon.

?Views are personal

*The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates - PubMed (nih.gov)

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