the impact of Covidtrigger warning
COVID-19 has impacted everyone around the world in some way; whether it is through the lowered employment rates, being exposed to or infected with covid, the fear of infecting loved ones, lockdowns, non-essential services shutting down, quarantine and even shops with shorter opening hours. This year has been as unpredictable, unprecedented and unfortunate, especially for many directly affected by COVID-19. The pandemic has had such a widespread impact on economies, politics and even social laws- but what toll has this taken on people’s mental health? In many countries, people with mental health conditions already faced stigma, mistreatment and discrimination, but during the pandemic, the situation has only worsened. A survey sent out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in June 2020 shows that some services for MNS (Mental, Neurological and Substance Abuse Disorders) were disrupted, or unable to open during lockdowns and quarantine, in the countries that were surveyed. Many of these services were seen as unessential and unnecessary to be open during the lockdowns. However, these services are essential to those who need to be treated; MNS disorders can make the person affected more susceptible to COVID-19. In Melbourne, when the most stringent lockdown procedures were announced on the 2nd of August, the Lifeline call centre experienced a rise in calls. Understandably, the people of Melbourne were scared, anxious and worried, so they decided to seek help from Lifeline. Throughout 2020, Lifeline has seen a 25% increase in calls, originally related to the bushfires, drought, Coronavirus and other unfortunate circumstances. Since the first lockdowns in Melbourne, there has been a 22% increase in calls to Lifeline and when the stage 4 restrictions were announced, calls from Victorians went up by another 30%.
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