even mental health professionals — whose job it is to exude confidence and strength — could feel the same difficulties deep down, he says.
another part of our community feeling the psychological burden are unpaid caregivers taking care of their loved ones, as well as nurses and
personal support workers
(psws). for many, seeing illness and death in numbers makes them particularly vulnerable for trauma and ptsd. for psws who have known their residents for years, it can feel like losing a family member, says spafford.
virtual care, closed social spaces leaves the vulnerable
another impact of covid-19 is the shift that healthcare and mental health services have had to make to virtual care — a move that leaves behind people who don’t have phones, computers, or even an unlimited internet access plan.
“[virtual care] doesn’t even speak to northern or rural communities where internet connectivity is not even possible,” says spafford.
with public libraries and public spaces, it affects the daily routine of people with schizophrenia, people who use opioids, those with serious anxiety and depression, and anyone who relies on those social supports.
“we’re going to have the same unmet need with the people we were already serving, on top of serving a new population,” she says. “it’s really important we reflect that the inequities we came into covid-19 with are only being exacerbated by covid-19. covid-19 is really shining a spotlight on them.”
those who didn’t need mental health services before will be added to wait lists
all of this will result in a new cohort of canada’s population that will need mental health and addiction services — who wouldn’t have needed it prior to covid-19. data from
connexontario
— a 24/7 free service for people experiencing problems with addiction, mental illness, or gambling — shows that calls for distress and support line services have gone up 44% between just february and april.
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