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'it affects nearly everyone': anxiety, depression soar during covid-19 pandemic, research at the royal reveals
rates of anxiety and depression have soared since the b...
sep 22 2020
3 minute read
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rates of anxiety and depression have soared since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, especially for those already struggling with mental illness, but even for those people who’ve never had to worry about their mental health before, according to research at the royal ottawa mental health centre.
“even in the ‘average joe,’ if you want to call them that, the pandemic has taken a really serious toll,” said rébecca robillard, director of clinical sleep research at the royal and author of the yet-to-be-published study.
“even for those without pre-existing mental disorders, half of them had major signs of depression and a third had signs of anxiety disorder,” robillard said.
“and those with pre-existing mental disorders, they’re getting worse. and significantly worse. anxiety is worse, depression is worse, suicidal ideations … it’s a pretty concerning situation.”
robillard’s research in based on an online survey of 6,000 canadians conducted between april 3 and june 23 — relatively early in the pandemic. the youngest person to answer the questionnaire was 16. the oldest 99.
“what our results actually show is that regardless of where they started with a specific diagnosis, everyone seems to be getting worse in terms of their depression and anxiety. it affects nearly everyone.”
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while fear of contracting covid-19 was a factor in the rise in anxiety and depression, respondents also feared getting sicker from existing illnesses because of cancelled or delayed medical appointments, lost income because of the economic shutdown and troubled family and personal relationships.
for those already being treated for mental health issues, the pandemic meant they had fewer appointments with their doctors or counsellors. and though online counselling has proved to be an effective substitute to in-person appointments, it took a while to get online mental health services up and running.
the use of alcohol and cannabis is also up 15 per cent, although robillard described the effect as “a bit of a mixed bag” with some respondents reporting their use has actually declined.
though no one is immune, younger people and women seem to be affected the most. that’s not surprising, robillard said, because it’s young women who are most likely dealing with the stress of child care during the pandemic and young people are the ones most likely to have jobs on the front line, dealing with the public.
“and we know that sometimes the general public isn’t very compliant with social distancing measures. also, even though you’re working, you may not be sure you’ll be working next month or that you’ll have the hours you need to support yourself.”
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what’s unknown, however, is whether people will learn to adapt and better cope as the pandemic drags on. some of robillard’s respondents have agreed to stay in the study to help see how their mental health changes over time. and since the study ended in june, it doesn’t take into account the start of the second wave of infections and the stress of a new school year.
the takeaway? more resources are going to be needed to deal with mental health needs as the pandemic drags on, she said.
“as time goes along, we’re seeing some decrease in the anxiety level,” she said. “people are starting to get a tiny bit less anxious because they’re starting to adapt to the situation, it’s a bit less of a shock. but for a lot of people, that is still a prolonged period of anxiety and stress and in the longer term, it can sustain some degree of depression. while anxiety was going down, the depression is going up.”
“one of the other important things about this research is that it shows us, as individuals, that we are not alone,” dr. raj bhatla, chief of staff at the royal said in a statement. “this affects everyone and it is ok to talk about it.”
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need help? these links can help guide you to services:
counselling connect offers free access to a same-day or next-day phone or video counselling session: https://www.counsellingconnect.org/
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the government of ontario also has this list of services which includes virtual services: https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-support-people#section-4
wellness together canada is the federal government resource hub for mental health and addictions https://ca.portal.gs/
to find out how to access services at the royal, visit https://www.theroyal.ca/need-help
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