The covid-19 pandemic and the attendant restriction on movement imposed by various countries across the globe significantly increase mental health challenges, a new study has shown.
The research result which was released yesterday was carried out by psychologist at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom who surveyed responses from over 800 people recruited online and on social media who answered questions over a ten-day period at a period the United Kingdom was on full lockdown.
The study revealed that the lockdown particularly affected the mental health of the most vulnerable groups which included those shielding.
The study also pointed out that one of the most important findings concerns those in vulnerable groups that demonstrate significantly higher levels of distress yet are also those most likely to have shielded for longest.
It suggested the need to address the group by policymakers to ensure adequate and appropriately tailored provision of mental health services.
The results suggest that a quarter of all participants revealed significantly elevated anxiety and depression, exacerbated by lockdown and isolation.
“Nearly 15% reached clinical levels of health anxiety, which reflects that health-related anxiety has become distressing and is likely to be causing preoccupation and disruption to normal activities. Health anxiety focuses on the fear of having or contracting a serious illness despite medical reassurance,” the study noted.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Hannah Rettie said the pandemic caused global uncertainty which has direct detrimental effect on many people in the UK and the world in general. “People have been unsure when they would see relatives again, job security has been rocked, there is an increased threat to many people’s health and government guidance is continuously changing, leading to much uncertainty and anxiety.
“What our research focused in on is how some individuals have struggled to tolerate and adapt to these uncertainties – much more so than in normal times. These results have important implications as we move to help people psychologically distressed by these challenging times in the weeks, months and years ahead.”
Deeper analysis reveals that those in vulnerable groups – classified according to the UK government ‘vulnerable’ categories – report twice the rates of health-related anxiety than the general population. Those who identified themselves in these categories were on average more anxious and depressed, with anxiety and health anxiety specifically significantly higher than in non-vulnerable groups. Those who are in the vulnerable group are at risk both physically and psychologically.
Average age of participants in the study was 38 years old, 22% of whom had a pre-existing medical condition. The majority of respondents were female (80% female: 20% male).
The researchers suggest that clinicians could use their findings to target intolerance of uncertainty as part of standard psychological therapies, focusing on developing coping skills to reduce distress. This could also be extended to public resources, drawing out individuals’ abilities to manage uncertainty and reduce reliance on less effective coping strategies, for example denial or self-blame.
