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Mental health issues in these difficult times

  • by JW

How can we reduce mental hardship now and in the coming weeks?

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The status of care homes has been called ‘the cinderella of the health care system’:

Devon care homes under pressure

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Likewise mental health.

If you’re already trying to live with mental health issues, being cooped up or having to work under huge stress will just be making things even more difficult:

Coronavirus: The mental health crisis brewing behind the UK’s locked doors | news.skycom

And it’s happening worldwide:

Coronavirus to have ‘profound’ mental health fallout as billions struggle with isolation | japantimes.co.jp

But there are strategies to help:

Coronavirus is causing a mental health crisis. Here’s how to fight it. | vox.com

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Now many more people are being effected:

Coronavirus is fuelling mental health crisis as Brits turn to alcohol and gambling, experts warn | thesun.co.uk

Which at least means that much more attention is now being given to this once-neglected area – with more help being offered and much more widely:

Now mental health is on everyone’s agenda | ft.com

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More help is at hand nationally:

National Health Service,

Mind,

Samaritans

And locally:

Sid Valley HELP

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There is now determination to look into the longer-term effects:

Coronavirus: ‘Profound’ mental health impact prompts calls for urgent research | bbc.co.uk

‘Urgent studies needed’ into mental health impact of coronavirus | theguardian.com

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This evening’s ‘The Briefing Room’ on Radio 4 looks at how we’ve been coping:

The psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic

What do we know about how we are coping with the pandemic crisis?

David Aaronovitch looks at the impact the three month lockdown has had on people in China and asks how different groups in the UK – just three weeks in – are faring.

What are the particular difficulties faced by the most vulnerable and those who have been advised to self isolate, maybe for many months, during the pandemic?

He asks what strategies can be put in place to reduce mental hardship now and in the coming weeks.

And when normality resumes, how changed might we be?

Contributors: Dr George Hu from the Shanghai United Family Pudong Hospital, Helen Westerman from Childline, Professor Bobby Duffy from King’s College London, Professor Stephen Reicher from the University of St Andrews and Professor Neil Greenberg from King’s College London.

The Briefing RoomThe psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic | bbc.co.uk