the last months have been filled with bleak predictions about mental health in canada due to the covid-19 pandemic. these predictions have been couched in apocalyptic language, with much talk of a looming “mental health crisis,” “depression time-bomb” or even an “epidemic of suicide.” such forecasts predict an imminent mental health disaster across canada, with worse consequences than the coronavirus pandemic itself.
but are such dystopian visions based on scientific evidence, or sensational scaremongering?
a just released léger
survey
of more than 1,500 adult canadians give some preliminary answers. this survey found that only 16 per cent of canadians rate their mental health as “bad” or “very bad” since the beginning of the covid-19 crisis.
in other words, the vast majority rate their mental health as “good,” “very good” or “excellent,”despite
rising concerns
about a second wave and further lockdowns.
these findings are consistent with pre-existing
research
indicating that socio-economic crises can (counter-intuitively) actually promote mental health. for example, the phrase “blitz spirit” is well-known in the united kingdom, referring to a semi-mythical period of the second world war, where londoners rallied together with resolution and defiance to resist the ravages of nightly luftwaffe air-raids. this “blitz spirit” is epitomized in a famous british wartime poster keep calm and carry on.