According to health specialists, the Covid-19 epidemic, which has been present for over two years, has begun to damage the mental health of not only people who have been affected but also those who have not been sick. Following the epidemic, there was a 15% increase in patients with mental illnesses. Furthermore, the majority of these patients have no family history of mental illness. The age group includes everyone from the elderly to middle-aged to youngsters and teenagers. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sadness, and grief are all major difficulties. In the case of PTSD, we have patients who have been in the ICU or isolated and still believe they are dying. Because they were unable to attend social gatherings such as parties and weddings owing to the lockdown, several patients have developed despair. The uncertainty of life following Covid is the primary source of severe sadness. “I used to see ten depressed patients in a day, today I saw twenty” Dr Ranjive Mahajan, chief of the DMCH’s psychiatry department, said the surge occurred after Covid began. The third group of patients is those who are grieving after losing a loved one to Covid and feel guilty for not being able to help them.
He went on to say that they’d been getting kids with a lot of anxiety. Anxiety among children has become frequent, according to Dr Anshu Gupta, a psychiatrist in Ludhiana. We see a lot of folks who have a lot of anxiety. They have witnessed death up close and believe that life is unpredictable, according to Dr Gupta. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are ambiguous. Abdominal or chest pain, dry throat, shortness of breath, tremors, and other symptoms are linked to stress or depression. We provide counselling to patients, but practically everyone needs medication. However, there is a bright spot. In most cases, psychiatrists indicated, these symptoms would not be permanent. Anxiety stems from a sense of hopelessness. Some patients who have family support and are now financially secure have recovered; however, those who have poor family support and financial concerns have yet to do so, according to Dr Mamta Singla, the chief of the CMCH’s psychiatry department. Every household has members who take sleeping medications as a result of their anxiousness. Some children in families suffer from behaviour disorders; they are addicted to educational gadgets and refuse to attend school, according to Dr Singla.
She went on to say that the majority of those who developed mental health problems after Covid began are in their 20s and 40s. During the lockdown, according to Dr Singla, there was also a spike in alcoholism. During the second wave of Covid, a woman’s father died, and she felt the personal loss had a negative impact on her mental health. She went on to say she was depressed and didn’t want to leave the house. I received depression treatment. I’ve also got some treatment for it. I am currently recovering thanks to the help of my husband and family. “I keep myself preoccupied,” she stated, “but I still wonder about my father very often.”
