Most parts of the world had been safe, free from any form of restrictions, and every person was allowed to socialize freely with their friends, relatives, neighbors, and even colleagues. However, this changed in 2019 when the world was fronted with a pandemic claiming the lives of people across the globe. As the disease swiftly spread, many countries across the globe struggled to contain the increase by imposing numerous measures.
One of the measures placed was lockdown, where people were required to stay and work in their homes. As a result, people were impacted differently where some people lost their jobs, others are still grieving, and a significant number is struggling to recover financially. Ever since the COVID-19 vaccine was discovered, many countries began to ease their restrictions as the number of people vaccinated increased. Despite the normalcy slowly returning, there has been a discourse regarding the mental health of people. Some argue that COVID-19 never increased the mentality instability of people as alluded to. However, there is a positive indication that COVID-19 imposed mental health challenges on people across the United States.
Mental health can be defined in simple terms as the emotional well-being of a person. This, therefore, means that a person is mentally healthy when they have peace of mind. Therefore, according to Kumar and Rajasekharan (2), mental health can be triggered by several things and not necessarily COVID-19. In their perception, COVID-19 never causes mental health on its own. In other words, those who currently experience mental disorders were undergoing some mental challenges even before the pandemic stroked.
However, this may not be correct according to Farber’s investigation. Although his research is not purely based on the impact of COVID-19, his research focuses on a similar challenge imposed by the pandemic, job loss. One of the pandemic’s impacts is unemployment that it presented when many factories and companies that offered employment to people were shut down. But being that mental health can be regarded as the absence of mental disorders, loss of a source of income can cause mental disorders. Besides, Farber (34) concluded that there is no guarantee of getting a new job when people become unemployed because of economic recession. This, therefore, means that these people suffer mentally for a long period.
Additionally, there is a direct link between securing a job after a job loss and obtaining mental wellness. According to Pappas (2), many people employed in the country are mainly middle-aged adults. However, with the economic difficulties imposed by the pandemic, most of the youths become unemployed. As a result, the youth become vulnerable to mental health conditions. Although several initiatives have been employed to help the mentally affected, Pappas (4) illustrates that a mental health informed approach is ineffective when people have become jobless. Instead, he states that “unemployed people see mental health gains when they secure new jobs” (Pappas 4).
This implies that the sole solution to achieving mental stability after a job loss is acquiring another job. However, with the economic recession imposed by the COVID-19, which forced many businesses to close, the number of young people suffering mentally will continue to be realized if there are no job opportunities.
While substance use disorder (SUD) can impose mental health challenges to those who consume drugs, COVID-19 affects the psychology of all humankind. According to Dubey et al. (3), COVID-19 imposes psychological problems on all the people in the society. For instance, medical students and all healthcare providers who interact with the COVID-19 patients are often faced with stress as they are uncertain of their future because they can easily acquire the disease.
Additionally, physicians are vulnerable to behavioral addiction, and this can increase their psychological stress. Furthermore, vulnerable communities such as those suffering from SUD and homeless people are further subjected to stress as they can easily acquire the disease and pass it to others. As a result, many people dissociate themselves with such individuals as they are seen as potential threats to society because they can easily transmit the disease. In other words, the SUD victims become marginalized, and this interferes with their mental health.
In the past decade, the number of people committing suicide has increased. A study conducted by Fortgang et al. (484) illustrated that suicide thoughts are triggered by mental instability. In other words, it is difficult for a person with the right mental status to commit suicide. For instance, suicide cases among the youth were mainly linked to relationship problems, drugs, joblessness, or grief (Arthur 4). In short, they were all connected to mental well-being in one way or another.
However, the number spiked when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in late 2019. This, therefore, implies that the number of people who became mentally affected increased from the period the coronavirus was detected. In a recent discovery, Fortgang (487) asserts that the pandemic has increased the vulnerability of getting a suicidal thought. This is mainly because of the enhanced feelings of social isolation. Human beings are social animals; hence they enjoy interacting with others. However, the declaration of the disease as a disaster and the imposing of the isolation measures negatively impacted people’s mental well-being. Moreover, social distancing, one of the measures taken by the government, can also increase the risk of mental health (Fortgang et al., 483). Furthermore, Fortgang et al. acknowledged that previous studies indicated that social distancing is one of the main causes of mental instability.
Even though most studies indicated that suicides increased during the COVID-19, some researchers have a contrary result. Tandon (2) illustrates that “overall rates declined or at worst stayed stable.” In other words, the notions previously linked to the cause of suicide across the country are refuted. Besides, the studies that showed an increase in suicide cases had no scientific evidence to prove their cases. They only relied on stories that they were told, and articles written. Additionally, Tandon illustrated that a systematic review of the publications indicated an increase in the number of deaths caused by suicide was deceiving since they showed a decline or stability in the number, but authors chose to report otherwise. Moreover, the number of males was higher than the number of females, who showed a decline compared to the cases reported in 2019 (Tandon 3).
Despite the contradictions, Tandon acknowledges that the number of middle-aged adults who committed suicide during that period was high compared to other groups of people. The author also alleges that there can be a risk of suicide in the aftermath of the pandemic. Therefore, this provides an opportunity for investigation since there can be some facts linking COVID -19 to suicidal thoughts.
Although issues illustrated by the Tandon, can to an extent, be true, the number of middle-aged American suicide cases are linked to COVID-19. In his article, Arthur (2) illustrates the plight of numerous families that have been affected by the suicides committed by their keens. The hard economic times that have affected the low-income middle-aged individuals force most of them to end their lives. Additionally, incidences of suicide have been reported both in rural and urban areas. Although between 1999 to 2013, the reported cases of suicide were mainly among the middle-aged whites, the number of Blacks and Latinos ending their own lives also increased when COVID-19 measures were enforced in the United States (Arthur 3).
The aggregate suicide rate in these counties increased among people of color from 2019 to 2020: up around 17 percent among Black people (to 6.3 deaths per 100,000 people), 14 percent among Latinos (3.5), and 9 percent among individuals of Asian descent (6.7). (Although even with these increases, no racial group had a suicide rate even half as high as that among white Americans, which was 14 deaths per 100,000 (Arthur 4).
In summary, the figures illustrate that COVID-19 instigated suicide thoughts which eventually led to the loss of numerous lives of middle-aged people.
Additionally, suicide thoughts were not the only causes of death initiated by the pandemic; drug overdose was another cause of death. The number of deaths reported among middle-aged people related to drug overdose increased in the past year. Fentanyl, an opioid drug, was the number one killer drug overdose, especially among Latino and people of color (Arthur 5). Additionally, excess alcohol, cocaine, and meth consumption also adversely contributed to the deaths of middle-aged blacks in the country in 2020 alone (Author 5).
This implies that COVID-19 created an urge for drug consumption as most poor people could not afford better housing which did not expose them to the drugs. Additionally, for impoverished people to relieve themselves from the stress created and exposure to higher risks, they resorted to drugs. Moreover, disconnection from school provided mental stress to college students and availed a lot of free time for the young people; hence majority resorted to using drugs. Therefore, several people lost their lives because of substance use disorder.
Additionally, COVID-19 greatly affects the delivery of treatment to people who use drugs. According to Dunlop et al. (2), the people who use drugs require specialized attention when it comes to treatment. However, this may be hindered with COVID-19 as the number of physicians who can render the treatment dwindled when the pandemic began. During the pandemic, doctors and nurses shifted their attention to the COVID-19 patients mainly because their cases were regarded as an emergency and needed quick attention. Additionally, some of the healthcare providers became quarantined after contracting the diseases or interacting with the patients.
Additionally, Dunlop et al. (1) state that “people who use drugs may prioritize drug use above other health concerns.” This means that the administration of treatment of drug addicts is hindered, and high fatalities can be realized.
The distress caused by COVID 19 on middle-aged men population across the US enhanced the consumption of alcohol. Even though there is currently no scientific proof of the relationship between COVID-19 and alcohol consumption, a preliminary study by Rehm et al. (1) indicated a significant connection between alcohol consumption and the pandemic. COVID-19 presented financial difficulties to many people across the country. Additionally, measures taken to curb the spread of the disease, such as isolation, and the uncertainty of the future worsened the patterns of alcohol use in the country.
As a result, many people resorted to drinking alcohol to divert their attention from their difficulties. According to Rehm et al. (2), even though there was a significant reduction in individual incomes due to loss of job, reduced income, the amount of alcohol consumption increased. The increase is mainly because of the mental stress that was imposed.
COVID-19 claimed many deaths across the United States, thus leaving many families with grief. Friends and family members’ well-being are often critical to the mental status of an individual. In the untimely death of a friend or a relative, those left behind are often subjected to depression and stress, which affects their mental wellness. According to Czeisler et al. (1), COVID-19 is directly linked to mental health challenges because of the mortality and morbidity of the disease. Since no cure has been discovered for the diseases and the recovery process is purely based on the body’s immune system to fight the virus, the survival of the patient was uncertain.
As a result, the relatives, and friends of a patient suffering from COVID-19 experience mental disorders as they fear the outcome. Although some patients successfully recovered, many more died in the hospitals within a short period. As a result, the relatives immensely experienced mental torture as they strived to accept the demise of their loved ones (Arthur 3). Additionally, the patients suffering from the diseases also experienced some stress. Lack of cure made them scared of the outcome hence became were tortured mentality for the duration they were in the hospitals.
Young adults are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 in the United States. According to Czeisler et al. (2), “elevated levels of adverse mental health conditions, substance use, and suicidal ideation were reported by adults in the United States in June 2020”. This implies that adults are more likely to be affected than any other age group in the country. Initially, COVID-19 was mainly seen as a disease affecting the aged population and those with underlying conditions.
However, this notion proved wrong, as demonstrated by Czeisler et al. (5), which illustrates that the middle-aged adults in the United States were highly impacted, mental, and health-wise. The authors demonstrate that middle-aged adults engage in substance abuse when the pandemic strikes. Additionally, most of the volunteers and the caregivers working with the COVID-19 patients were middle-aged adults; hence they accumulated a “higher incidence of adverse mental and behavioral health conditions compared with others” (Czeisler et al. 2). In short, middle-aged adults have been highly affected by the disease compared to any other group in society.
In conclusion, most of the middle-aged population in the United States experienced mental health challenges when the pandemic occurred. The measures taken by the government to curb the spread of the diseases caused stress to people as they were forced to isolate and enhance social distance. Additionally, the number of deaths caused by drug overdoses and suicide cases increased overall across all races. In addition, loss of jobs, high morbidity, and mortality rates created mental challenges to many people across the nation. Although there is inadequate information supporting this notion, the preliminary studies indicate that COVID-19 significantly impacted people’s mental health. However, more studies should be performed regarding the same issue to validate the findings.
Works Cited
Arthur, Rob. “Deaths of despair have surged among people of color. New data shows another disaster unfolding alongside the pandemic.” Intelligencer. Web.
Czeisler, Mark É., et al. “Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic—the United States, 2020.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Vol. 69., no.32 (2020): 1049.
Dubey, Mahua Jana, et al. “COVID-19, and addiction.” Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews Vol. 14, no.5 (2020): 817-823.
Dunlop, Adrian, et al. “Challenges in maintaining treatment services for people who use drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Harm reduction journal Vol. 17, no.1 (2020): 1-7.
Farber, Henry S. Job loss in the Great Recession and its aftermath: US evidence from the displaced worker’s survey. No. w21216. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2015.
Fortgang, Rebecca G., et al. “Increase in suicidal thinking during COVID-19.” Clinical Psychological Science Vol.9, no.3 (2021): 482-488.
Kumar, Anant, and K. Rajasekharan Nayar. “COVID 19 and its mental health consequences.” (2021): 1-2.
Pappas, Stephanie. “The toll of job loss.” American Psychological Association Vol. 51, no.7. (2020). Web.
Rehm, Jürgen, et al. “Alcohol use in times of the COVID 19: Implications for monitoring and policy.” Drug and Alcohol Review Vol. 39, no.4 (2020): 301-304.
Tandon, Rajiv. “COVID-19 and suicide: Just the facts. Key learnings and guidance for action.” Asian journal of psychiatry (2021).