“It's definitely been hard on people's mental health,” said Phyllis O'Connor Executive Director for the Saskatchewan Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
O'Connor was confirming that empirically what many people have been stating anecdotally about the COVID - 19 pandemic - the control measures, the uncertainty, the loss of social outlets and other factors has not only had a massive impact on people's mental health but changed for many how we interact with others.
A synopsis of the study results released this past March can be found online.
Working with the University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers the CMHA has charted the effects the pandemic has had on people.
The effects are none too pretty and it has changed many people and how they interact with others, she said.
The results of the survey showed not just the deterioration of many of the participant's overall mental health but showed something more startling, a major spike in the numbers of people who just do not care about or have empathy for others.
According to the study's findings there has been an increase of 13 percent to 23 percent in the number of people who cannot show empathy for others.
“Social involvements and interactions that has been taken away…after two years there is a lack of empathy for others; it is compassion fatigue.”
According to the study’s findings in the fear of losing social connections, people weighed almost as heavily (37 percent) as being with family (39 percent) and the fear of contracting COVID (39 percent) from study participants.
O'Connor said what many people are feeling is akin to the burnout experienced by caregivers whose lives are strapped down looking after loved ones with their social involvements limited and turned upside down.
“It’s not that they don’t care but over time the well has gone dry.”
The lack of empathy is widespread in society.
“It seems the population as a whole are reporting this lack of empathy.”
Younger People Hit Hard
The effects of the pandemic have impacted younger people very hard, O'Connor said.
“The effects on young folks has been really marked,” she said, adding that the loss of social interactions, sports, no graduation ceremonies, not able to be with friends, will they be able to finish their schooling and other factors have taken away the many things younger people look forward to.
“It has been really difficult on the young people.”
When asked if the return of social interactions - such as organized sports, outings and achievements celebrated publicly - would help, O'Connor said it all helped.
“Bringing that back is really going to help,” she said.
Uncertainty Still Playing A Part
For many people, there is still uncertainty about the pandemic.
How the pandemic was handled has left many worrying inside if COVID will return, as the easing of the mandates went from people worrying and taking precautions and within a short time span the mandates were rescinded.
“You have been under a perceived threat for two years that (removing mandates) doesn’t fix that…that in itself is producing anxiety.”
O'Connor said one of the main things individuals need to understand is people react differently to stressors and the events around them. What might be OK for some people in other people can create anxiety.
“Different people respond differently to the same events around them.”
For O'Connor the solution is people need to understand this.
When it comes to people still wearing masks, those who do not wear masks need to understand people see things differently and do not need to be harassed for their personal decisions - or vice versa.
“People need to be able to make their own judgment as what is safe for them (without being harassed for it.)”
Factors Affecting People's Mental Health
The constant barrage of bad news in the media during the pandemic and beyond coupled with social media has had major impacts on people's mental health, she said.
“The constant barrage of bad news…a lot people have said this has hit them hard.”
One thing O'Connor said is there is an impact of bad news, uncertainty and worry over an extended period on people's mental health, not only those who are medically pre-dispositioned through genetics but others as well.
“People can only [handle] a stress level for so long.”
Those who had serious relationship problems were impacted heavily.
“Anxiety and stress is much more dangerous in a dangerous situation,” O'Connor said when asked about Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) statistics which show an increase in assaults during the pandemic.
The move towards working from home has additionally impacted people's mental health.
Working from home has impacted many not favourably when it comes to the all important work - life balance as “you are always at your job working from home.”
O’Connor pointed out working from home may sound attractive but there were many factors that compounded the mental stress the freedom of working from home seemed to embody.
Work from home during the pandemic often saw parents not just “at work” but also coping with educating children who often had to be home schooled. There were continual interactions with a person’s partner which could lead to additional stress.
Opportunities such as self care, such as time in the gym, was lost for many adding more stress.
People who would once go to work which was a major social interaction was lost from working from home.
“It all put a lot of additional load on many people.”
Many Quick To Anger
Being confined and the loss of social interactions brought on by the pandemic mandates had a major affect on many people. More people were quicker to anger, she said.
“It’s a climate of people who are shorter on patience. Quicker to get angry or have anger all of the time…there was a marked change in their attitudes.”
It is something the CMHA’s survey tracked from a baseline before the pandemic and trend lines during the pandemic.
Asked about anecdotal claims that suicides increased because of the pandemic, O’Connor said she could not say if they had one way or the other.
The reason was not the government hiding the number of suicides but the manner in which they are reported. She said it was not done this way because of the pandemic but the record keeping has always been that way when it came to suicides.
Importance Of Mental Health And Under-funding
For O’Connor, the study points to the importance of good mental health and how it is just as important as an individual’s mental health.
Of course there are challenges to the treatment of mental health and the journey to recovery.
“Mental health is incredibly underfunded but incredibly important,” O’Connor said. With major funding shortfalls, [it’s hard to get to the root cause before it becomes a problem.]
She said for many of these programs, it is hard to quantify exactly what their successes are, as we as a society statistically only measure failures.
“How can you measure the successes? How many people were able to avoid serious mental health problems because of help before it became a problem?”
Despite the difficulty of measuring the success O’Connor said the upstream preventive programs do yield results.
“Results in areas of educational work and peer support save the government money in the long run.”
How To Cope And Find Help
The pandemic placed a massive strain on the already under-funding of mental health care and initiatives. Both which have become much more necessary for many people, she said.
But there are things people can do to help to cope with the impact the past two years have had on yours or other people’s mental health.
No matter how hard it may be, she said much of the solutions lie in not being judgmental of others. Realize that not all people are the same, not all have the same situation and everyone is unique. Everyone is coming out of the pandemic differently, she said.
“Everybody’s situation is different.”
Her main message could be best described as ‘be kind to one another.’
O’Connor said that people need to often take a break from the news as the continual bad news and uncertainty it has created has often contributed to the growing anxiety many have and continue to experience.
During the pandemic and even now, limiting or ignoring social media entirely may well help to relieve the stress and related mental health impacts people are experiencing.
She encourages people who find themselves needing help to reach out.
The CMHA is open to people contacting them, as there are many resources that are available and the stigma which still surrounds mental health is absent at the CMHA.
There are on-line resources offered by the CMHA.
The CMHA offers Bounce-Back - a free to use on-line resource that is designed to build an individual’s skills to improve your mental health.
The CMHA also offers the Hope Learning Centre - a supportive on-line environment to assist a person with their recovery.
If more help is needed, O’Connor advises people to contact their medical doctor if necessary and do not allow the stigma about mental health to stop them from reaching out.
If a person needs help to make the first steps or navigate the medical system to find the help they need from a professional, the CMHA is glad to assist a person to do so.
The CMHA is not a referral service and cannot refer someone to see a psychiatrist, psychologist or a counsellor. But at the same time, the CMHA will help an individual through the maze to get help and “advocate for a person as much as we can,” she said.
O’Connor said no matter how badly a person feels about the stigma which unfortunately still surrounds mental health that help is there.
“We can help. People need to not feel ashamed to seek help as many people still struggle against an old stigma that causes them not to reach out for help.”
