Mental health affects daily life, relationships and even physical health. This also works vice versa, as factors in people’s lives, interpersonal connections, and physical factors can all contribute to mental health disruptions.
Conditions such as stress, depression and anxiety can all affect mental health and disrupt a person’s routine. Everybody is vulnerable to rough mental health patches, especially so during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession.
Fear and anxiety are natural responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, as worries of contracting the virus to fatigue from constant lockdowns wears on throughout the country. Many adults in Sarawak have reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the pandemic.
A broad body of research links social isolation and loneliness to poor mental health. During this unprecedented time of uncertainty and fear, it is likely that mental health issues and substance use disorders will be exacerbated.
For those who have lost their jobs and their primary source of income, research shows that job loss is associated with increased depression, anxiety, distress, and low self-esteem. Additionally, the unemployment rate is associated with increases in suicide rates.
Almost overnight, the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the work and workplaces of the public sector. Civil servants are playing a leading role in the response to the pandemic and as a result, are under a significant amount of stress.
Many civil servants are working on government responses to the crisis, while facing its impacts on their personal lives at the same time. Poor mental health due to fatigue among civil service workers is a major concern, because the mental health of civil servants is vital as it affects their work performance.
Many workers are forced to work from home and are struggling with the challenges of doing so, juggling childcare and work, and maintaining their own productivity and motivation. Working from home means that the boundaries between home and work are increasingly blurred. The inability to balance work life and personal life are subject to the carry-over of work stress, adding unnecessary pressure at home and can leave workers feeling burnt out.
Limited access to mental health care and substance use treatment is in part due to a current shortage of mental health professionals, which will likely be exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been an increase in mental health services provided via telemedicine.
As policymakers continue to discuss further actions to alleviate the burdens of the pandemic, the increased need for mental health and substance use services could continue longer even as new cases and deaths due to the coronavirus subside.
