There are several reasons why anxiety has become more common during the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on individuals, families, and small businesses all over the world. Even though many people are focused on economic strife and hospitalizations, it is clear that the coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted people’s mental health. Recently, a study was published by the World Health Organization indicating that anxiety increased more than 25 percent during the pandemic. Even though it is good news that many countries are paying attention to the rise in mental health issues, the World Health Organization believes that significant gaps remain in mental health treatment. That is why people must learn everything they can about anxiety disorders.
There are several reasons why anxiety has become more common during the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most significant risk factors, according to the study published by the World Health Organization, is social isolation. Because people were told mainly to shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic, individuals had difficulty interacting with people outside their homes. This was particularly problematic for people living alone.
Another reason anxiety became much more common during the pandemic is that people had difficulty making ends meet. Even though it is true that some countries distributed stimulus checks, many individuals were laid off due to the pandemic. When this is combined with a fear of death, anxiety increases dramatically.
While just about anybody can develop anxiety at any time, several subsets of the population were far more likely to develop anxiety during the pandemic. For example, health care workers were among those hardest hit because of the tremendous stress they endured during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, information published by the World Health Organization indicated that young people were far more likely to develop severe mental health issues. This manifested in an increased risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation. Women were also more likely to develop mental health issues when compared to Men.
Even though many countries have increased the resources they have devoted to mental health treatment in the wake of this study, significant gaps remain. For example, during the coronavirus pandemic, many non-emergent or non-essential medical services took a back seat to the emergency room and ICU care. One of the services that were rolled back was mental health. Because mental health and neurological treatment options were rolled back during the coronavirus pandemic, they have been slowly rebuilding as everything else has come back online. This has led to significant waits for people looking for mental health treatment, including those looking for help with anxiety.
Fortunately, plenty of treatment options are available for people seeking help with anxiety. For example, telehealth options are still available even if someone may have difficulty getting a face-to-face meeting with a treatment counselor. People can access online chats, video appointments, and urgent mental health treatment. Therapy and prescription medication continues to be the first-line treatment for people suffering from anxiety, but digital tools are changing how this condition is treated. People need to take advantage of all the treatment options available to them. This could change the way anxiety is approached moving forward.
