Damian Sendler: An acute respiratory syndrome-causing strain of the Corona virus was discovered in Wuhan, China, at the beginning of 2020, and it spread across the globe quickly (Ahmed et al. 2020, Wang et al. 2020). Because of its higher CFR and greater contagiousness when compared to other SARS-like illnesses, the case fatality rate (CFR) for COVID-19 is higher than for influenza (Bouey 2020, Yang et al. 2020). Since April 30, it has spread to more than 210 countries, with an estimated 3,189,594 active cases and a staggering death rate of 225,755 worldwide (WHO 2020). A global pandemic of influenza (HINI) struck in 1918-19, killing 50 to 100 million people (Johnson & Mueller 2002), many of whom suffered from mental health issues (Young 2016).
Damian Jacob Sendler: Many countries around the world are responding to COVID-19 with various strategies that combine mitigation and quarantine in order to reduce the flow of patients and reduce the demand for hospital admissions while protecting the most vulnerable from infection like the elderly and patients with comorbidities (Anderson et al. 2020, Parodi and Liu 2020). (Bedford 2020). On the other hand, this approach has stoked anxiety and depression in the public because it has disrupted their normal social and psychological lives. Many developed countries, such as the United States and Italy, are able to deal with social and financial crises, but this is not always the case. In developing countries like Pakistan, where the majority of the population is made up of low-wage workers, the pandemic has had a devastating effect, causing anger, depression, frustration, and a host of other mental health issues (Ahmad et al. 2020).
Dr. Sendler: Mental health sciences and psychiatry have come under scrutiny in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Triadic functions have been performed by transdisciplinary integrative-psychiatry: 2. help other medical branches encourage person-centered medicine by practicing consultation-liaison psychiatry; and 3. promote public awareness of the importance of mental health and the concept of an empathic civilization and a compassionate society.
Mental health issues like depression have been found to be directly linked to chronic diseases like tuberculosis (van den Heuvel et al. 2013, Gale et al. 2018, Kuan et al. 2019). Ebola epidemics and SARS outbreaks in 2003 and 2014 both revealed that fear-inducing, over-reactive behavior among the general population was also observed during these epidemics (Person et al. 2004, Shultz et al. 2016). Many mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have been linked to healthcare workers and survivors.
Damian Sendler
Public health crises in more than 210 countries around the world are to blame for the confirmed COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, it is impossible to predict the full extent of the economic and social consequences, but the fact that many countries around the world have implemented full or partial lockdowns can help us understand the impact (Cosic et al. 2020). In addition to the critical issues of virus containment and treatment of patients, it is also necessary to address the long-term effects of de-stabilized mental health globe. COVID-19 poses a serious threat to mental health around the world for the reasons outlined in this article, both economically and in terms of public health. “Increased rates of stress and anxiety is the main psychological impact of the pandemic up to now,” according to a WHO guideline, which warned that “new measures especially quarantine, its impact on public’s daily activities and livelihoods, loneliness levels and harmful drugs and alcohol use and depression and suicidal behavior or self-harm are also expected to rise” as the pandemic progresses (WHO 2020).
As soon as a pandemic is discovered, the public’s initial reaction is one of fear and uncertainty about the likely physical and mental health outcomes of the virus pandemic, which most likely includes: a decrease in health perception, a decrease in positive social activities, and a rise in health risk behaviors such as smoking (anxiety, PTSD and depression etc) As of 2020, (Shigemura et al. When compared to previous outbreaks like SARS, patients with definite and suspected COVID-19 and those who are quarantined are more likely to suffer from frustration, loneliness, and anger (Xiang 2020).
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: A study of 2091 people in China found that one month after the outbreak, the prevalence of PTSD in mainland China was 4.6 percent, while the prevalence of PTSD (18.4 percent) was higher among the high-risk public, such as those who live in Chinese provinces with the highest COVID-19 positive cases (Sun et al. 2020). Professionals in the mental health field, as well as those who have experienced a traumatic event, should be extremely concerned. Those who were quarantined in a Beijing hospital’s SARS unit reported significantly higher levels of PTSD and other mental conditions like fear, frustration, depression, and anxiety, compared to those who were not quarantined in the same facility (Wu et al. 2009, Kaiser 2020, Yi et al. 2020). Psychological problems such as frustration and aggression will be common in countries like Pakistan where the pandemic is a major cause of uncertainty as well as a major factor in people’s daily lives, such as their work schedules and where they will get their next meal. Health care workers who work in quarantine centers without personal protective equipment (PPE) or who have experienced the death of a loved one may experience similar symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, mental health professionals should use stress-adaptation model therapies to reduce the stress level of health care workers.
Damian Jacob Sendler
Comfort in cleanliness and a person’s constant desire to wash or sterilize and such a condition is usually classified as obsessive-compulsive disorder (Williams et al. 2013). In the event of a global pandemic caused by an infectious virus, this form of OCD can lead to an increase in panic attacks, resulting in patient distress and functional impairment. A country like Pakistan, where only a small percentage of the population is registered with a mental health professional, would suffer greatly if such a condition were not carefully and regularly monitored. Clinical Psychiatrists should focus more on resolving mental health issues in the general population, and should do so with great care (Hamza Shuja et al. 2020). Researchers are currently conducting a variety of studies on the impact of the COVID-19 virus pandemic on mental health, and the results show that governments and health officials must take action quickly to minimize the mental health harm caused by the Corona virus (Cosic et al. 2020).
Damien Sendler: Individuals with COVID-19 antibodies, whether they are unconfirmed or confirmed, report significant psychological distress as well as other health-related issues. These people may be plagued by anxiety about the possibility of contracting a deadly disease or being infected by others (Xiang et al. 2020). A lack of treatment adherence is the result of mental health issues such as denial, insomnia, despair, and depression that are experienced by those who have been confirmed or suspected. Individuals with a high risk for anger and suicide may also be affected by this. Doubts about an isolated person’s health status may cause them to develop obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms such as repeatedly washing their hands, checking the temperature, and following other preventative measures. Additionally, strict quarantine conditions and mandatory contact tracing policies by the health agencies could lead to social rejection, discrimination, financial losses, and stigmatization (Shigimura et al. 2019, Brooks et al. 2020).
Front-line medical staff are frequently cited as reporting increased workload, discrimination, and isolation because their responsibilities include caring for infected individuals, maintaining close contact with the cases’ families, and frequently answering questions from the public. They are therefore more susceptible to experiencing fear, fatigue, sleep issues, and emotional disturbances as a result of their situation (Xiang et al. 2020, Kang et al. 2020). A recent study involving 1,563 medical professionals found that 50.7% of those who took part had signs of depression, 44.7% had anxiety, and 36.1% had sleep disturbances, according to the findings (Liu et al. 2020).
Additionally, the lack of information about the COVID-19 pandemic and the frustrating news may cause fear, anxiety, and uncertainty in the community (Shigimura et al. 2019, Bao et al. 2020). If there is a lockdown, the general public may become bored, irritable, and disappointed on a large scale (Brooks et al. 2020, Li et al. 2020)
COVID-19’s mental health effects have not been studied analytically, but based on the current public response, it is expected to have a significant impact (Li 2020, Xiang et al. 2020). Following this reaction, China’s national health commission issued a notice specifying guidelines for emergency psychosocial disaster interventions on January 26th, 2020, in an effort to reduce COVID-19 psychosocial outcomes. The psychological team includes psychiatrists, psycho-logical support hotlines, and mental health professionals (National Health Commission of China 2020). On March 18th 2020, WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use developed an outline of considerations for general and different targeted populations to support mental health and psychological comfort (World Health Organization 2020), allowing mental health workers to help the general population and patients understand and deal with the new threat effectively with a likely outcome of the COVID-19.. Consequently (Hamza Shuja et al. 2020).
The Corona virus outbreak has had a significant impact on most of the world’s countries, but most of those countries have fewer mental health workers on hand to meet the growing demand. For example, in China, there are 2.2 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, while in the United States, there are 11 psychiatrists per 100,000 people (Kirton 2020). Even in developed countries like the United States, nearly 40% of the population lives in an area where mental health professionals are scarce (Andrade et al. 2014), and this problem is not unique to developing countries (Marr 2019). Consequently, the current pandemic’s limited access to mental health services poses a significant challenge to health officials everywhere.
For patients, their families, and mental healthcare professionals everywhere, the increasing demand for psychiatric services and systems raises the possibility of global public mental health crises. In order to solve this problem, increasing the number of psychiatrists and improving the quality and availability of mental health services is not enough. As a means of addressing the current shortage of mental health care providers, telepsychiatry, artificial intelligence (AI), and other cutting-edge technologies like computer assisted services and tools are all viable options.
Consultation-liaison psychiatry is challenged by COVID-19, which provides mental health services to both patients in isolation wards and health care workers who treat them. There are many psychiatric hospitals where staff members like psychiatrists can practice telemedicine from the comfort of their own homes (Allen & Mishkin 2020). Corona virus panic attacks, which include chest pain and breathing difficulties, can be mistaken for respiratory distress during the COVID-19 outbreak (Onyemaechi 2020). Such patients can be identified by liaison psychiatry, which plays an important role in preventing numerous issues. When dealing with COVID-19-infected patients, health care workers often have to work long hours and don’t have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) (Allen & Mishkin 2020). Providing front-line health care workers with access to high-quality mental health services should be a top priority.