Mitigating the Hazardous Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: Where Are We?

Epidemics have a great bearing on mental health. Even before the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, mental health disorders were leading causes of global health burden with anxiety and depressive disorders being the leading contributors to this burden.[1] The pandemic has worsened the already bad situation by increasing the negative impact on general mental health by making anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, lower psychological well-being, sleep disorders, dream anxiety etc. manifest in general public and medical health professionals. It is generally established that infections are associated with high risk of mood disorder and the risk further increases with severe infection. This could be the reason for exacerbation of mental health conditions in patients with psychiatric disorders prior to COVID-19.

Stigma and discrimination, loss of loved ones, financial insecurity, low family support, nervousness, helplessness on not being unable to support friends and relatives in need due to lockdown and quarantine, fear of catching the infection, stress load, working in front line and higher social media exposure were the major determinants that impacted the mental well-being of all during the pandemic. Entire medical fraternity was subjected to occupational stress, burn out and fatigue emerging from disconnect from their families for days together, worry about their family's well-being, working for long continuous hours donning the personal protection equipment kit in hot summer weather, agony, anguish and helplessness at not being able to save the patients. The psychiatric patients were victims of social ostracism and therefore were not involved in a social group or activity, more so, if they happened to be infected. This deliberate mistrust toward mentally unstable people sprung up from their cognitive impairment and lack of awareness and the resultant inability to take protective measures to prevent themselves and others from COVID-19 infection. Lack of availability of essential drugs and limited facility to visit the mental care professional further aggravated their suffering.

Alleviating the perilous impact of the pandemic on mental health is an international health priority and has led to increased urgency to strengthen mental health systems globally. The strategies include ways to preserve mental well-being, target the causality for poor mental health and interventions to treat those with mental disorders. In an effort to create awareness and address social stigma in mental health, an international day for global mental health education, ‘World Mental Health Day’ is celebrated on 10th October each year. Thousands of supporters come together to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects on peoples' lives worldwide. This day also provides an opportunity to mental health professionals to discuss and shed light on their work, making mental health a priority worldwide.[2] [3] The theme of this year's Mental Health Day was: “Making Mental Health & Well-Being far All a Global Priority“. On this occasion, ‘The Lancet’ released a report indicating that 90% of the people living with mental health conditions feel negatively impacted by stigma and discrimination and called for radical action to end these. Women with a diagnosis of severe mental disorder and their family members face more stigma which has ramifications for marriage and employment, making them most vulnerable group for mental disorder.

Given the social exclusion and disempowerment of people with mental health conditions have to face, it is imperative that the governments, international and media organisations, health care providers and people work together on inclusive, community-based promotion and prevention intervention for mental well-being of all and address the needs of people with mental conditions. Access to health care for psychiatric patients, redressal of challenges to securing employment and reducing the likelihood of complications including suicides may save many lives.

Homoeopathy has long been recognised as a gentle system of medicine that assumes that body and mind are dynamically interconnected and both influence each other. The homoeopathic understanding of health is intimately connected to understanding of the mind and homoeopaths base every prescription on physical and mental symptoms of the patient, the latter playing a primary role in the selection of the Simillimum.[4]

In this issue, we present three case reports on different mental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia successfully treated with homoeopathy.

The head of World health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on September 15 said: We are not there yet. But the end of COVID-19 pandemic is ‘in sight’. May this come true! In the year 2023. Tathastu…! Amen…!

Wishing all the readers a happy and healthy new year!

Publication History

Article published online:
29 December 2022

• References

• 1 Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Lancet. 398. (10312), 6–12 November 2021, 1700-1712
• 2 World Mental Health Day. Available from https://www.who.int campaigns
• 3 Mngoma NF, Ayonrinde OA, Fergus S, Jeeves AH, Jolly RJ. Distress, desperation and despair: anxiety, depression and suicidality among rural South African youth. Int Rev Psychiatry 2021; 33 (1-2): 64-74
• 4 Ullman D. The homeopathic approach to treatment of anxiety and depression: a review of the history and present status. Altern Complement Ther 2008; 14 (01) 19-22