In the shadows – the hidden impact of the COVID pandemic Australia isn’t talking about.

In 2019, 3,318 Australians lost their lives to suicide, over the past decade the rate of suicide amongst men is threefold that of women – it’s an alarming statistic that exposes the mental health challenges we face as a nation.?

One in 16 Australians will experience depression in their lives, and one in seven will suffer from an anxiety condition – for the past four years I’ve been one of these people, living with severe anxiety and depression.?

It has taken several attempts seeking professional help to build my confidence and arrive in a place where I feel as though I can live with the increased isolation of a lockdown.?

As Sydney enters its third month of lockdown, much has been made of the economic and physical health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.?

Every day we hear the latest case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths. Much is made of unemployment figures and business closures.

And while these are very relevant and important statistics, they don’t expose the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or the way in which our governments have chosen to respond.?

It is a good thing that governments have sought to increase resourcing to mental health assistance, but the fact remains that little of the day-to-day conversation, media coverage or political debate has focused on the mental health impacts associated with lockdown – isolation, reduction in physical exercise and loss of work.?

There have been calls for mental health experts to appear at daily press conference, and to have a more visible presence in the information that is being conveyed to Australians.?

I know from my own experience that it takes time and a degree of self-understanding and confidence to reach out for help, it isn’t something that is easily arrived at, and some people never find themselves in a situation where they can reach out and ask for help.?

It was reported last week that the three busiest days in Lifeline’s 57-year history have been this month, with the organisation receiving 3,436 calls in a single day.

This is adding increased strain on these organisations, and on the volunteers they largely depend on to offer potentially lifesaving services.?

So much support and funding for mental health services is directed towards post-intervention, there is an urgent need to open the conversation and for people to understand that their lockdown experiences are likely to be contributing to increased levels of anxiety and depressed – this is normal, and to be expected.?

From young Australians who are missing social interaction and education as a result of school closures, to those who have experienced a loss of work or drastic change in their professional environment, and of course our Seniors, who have been hardest impacted by the physical effects of the Coronavirus.?

We’ve all missed, or know people who haven’t been able to be physically present for births, engagements, weddings, birthdays and perhaps most distressingly funerals. Our sacrifices are compounded by politically driven border closures, mixed messaging and a hazy understanding of when we will emerge from this pandemic and it’s impacts.?

Our governments must acknowledge that COVID-19 presents both severe physical health risks – and mental health risks.?

More transparent reporting of presentations to mental health services, and clear communication that mental health risks are being considered as part of the medical advice informing our nation’s COVID-19 response would allow people to see that they are not alone – and that it isn’t wrong to be struggling to adjust to life under lockdown.

While we can all be buoyed by New South Wales’ strong vaccination rates, the likelihood of life as we know it remains months away.

It isn’t too late for governments to change the way they’re approaching this pandemic, and to acknowledge that the Coronavirus’ impact on mental health is just as significant, if not more significant than it’s impact physical health.?

Any loss of life is tragic, and governments should always seek to prevent death wherever possible.?

Australia is world leading when it comes to the prevention of deaths from COVID-19, 986 since the onset of the Coronavirus, but in the shadows of this pandemic remain the severe and lasting mental health impacts – it’s time government shines a light on this and let’s Australians know that they don’t need to suffer alone.??

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