The Collateral Damage of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Mental Health and Psychiatry

Abstract

The potential consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak are multifarious and remain largely unknown. Deaths as a direct result of the condition are already in the millions, and the number of indirect deaths is likely to be even higher. Pre-existing historical inequalities are compounded by the virus, driving increased rates of infection and deaths amongst people who use drugs and alcohol, those belonging to racial-ethnic minority groups, poorer communities, LBGTQ+ populations, healthcare workers, and other members of the care economy; all of whom are already at increased risk of adverse mental health effects. In this paper we suggest that a central role of mental health practitioners is advocacy: both for people who use psychiatric services and for those who, due to the effects of the pandemic, are at an increased risk of needing to do so.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient Admissions for Psychotic and Affective Disorders: The Experience of a Large Psychiatric Teaching Hospital in Romania

“…In addition to its direct effects, the outbreak has had indirect impacts on healthcare services for other diseases, including psychiatric services [ 17 ]. In Romania, similar to other countries, the mental health services underwent an important reorganization during lockdown.…”

Mental health of the adult population in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid Review

“…Longer-term consequences [ 1 , 2 ] are being discussed in the event of an economic recession caused by the pandemic [ 9–11 ]. The increase in risk factors that already existed before the pandemic may also create additional mental health burdens, such as a higher risk of domestic violence [ 11–13 ] or increased loneliness [ 14 , 15 ] in the wake of contact restrictions and widespread closures. In principle, it can be expected that the longer the duration or chronification of stressors, the more difficult it becomes to cope successfully [ 10 ].…”

Stigma and Discrimination: the Twain Impact on Mental Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…There are many different types of stigmata in Indian society (Murthy, 2002 ). For instance, culture stigma (Esqueda, 2011 ), sexuality stigma (Shah, 2019 ), surrogacy stigma (Khvorostyanov and Yeshua-Katz, 2020 ), and physical ailment stigma (Van Brakel & Miranda Galarza, 2014 ) are some of the already proven stigmas existing in Indian society. However, COVID-19 created a type of psychological stigma that affects individuals, families, and locality.…”