Research reveals COVID-19 disruption is damaging people’s mental health
New research has drawn a concerning link between the ongoing disruption of COVID-19 lockdowns and worsening mental health for our most vulnerable.
An international study has drawn a link between that disruption and declining mental health for those with a mood disorder.
Nearly 40 percent of people included in the study reported moderate to severe depression during our first lockdown in 2020.
“Up until now, we’ve never had quite such a dramatic event that’s changed large numbers of people’s rhythms,” researcher Richard Porter said.
Nearly 1000 people took part in the study from six different countries, with more than half the participants from New Zealand.
Half of the participants had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the other half had depression.
The research showed that 12 percent of participants felt minimally depressed, 20 percent reported mild depression, 27 percent moderate depression, 21 percent moderate to severe and 18 percent severely depressed.
TDB has been pointing out for 2 years that after the immediate health impact of Covid and the economic carnage would be the mental health damage of isolation.
I think hate algorithms alongside the enormous mental harm caused by the forced isolation of this unique universal event is exploding in crime, domestic violence and self harm. I think the looming economic recession will be depression era levels of financial damage because of the supply side dynamics at play.
As bad as you think it is now, wait till we have a 10% inflation rate.
Desperate people are writhing in agony and going nuts.
Everyone has been impacted mentally by these unprecedented times and the true cost is yet to be felt.
That’s why the lack of any real progress on mental health is so concerning…
Health Minister Andrew Little is defending the Government after a report found no change in access to acute and specialist mental health services despite a $1.9 billion funding boost.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission on Tuesday released its new report for 2022 which assessed what is working well, and what is not, in the mental health and addiction sector. It found no change in access to specialist mental health services in five years despite the Government’s huge cash injection in 2019.
…after sinking $1.9billion into mental health. all Labour have to show is 5 extra acute beds.
I do not believe we are ready for this jelly.
Economic stress is going to put more pressure upon mental well being and a health system already at breaking point.
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Remind me again why the govt gave suicide prevention funding to Minister Mahuta’s husband rather than Mike King?
Wrong whanau?
Did suicide prevention funding go to Mahutas husband?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/cabinet-minister-nanaia-mahutas-husbands-firm-received-second-government-payment-of-28000/FC5DBQZUZJHPU5DVLM6IHWFT5E/
Paywalled – “A consulting firm belonging solely to the husband of Labour Minister Nanaia Mahuta, (William) Gannin Ormsby, was awarded a grant of $28,300 by the Ministry of Māori Development in a period when Mahuta was the department’s Associate Minister.
The role of Associate Minister has narrowly defined responsibilities. The funds were awarded from a suicide prevention fund administered by the department; decision-making responsibility for investments from the Rangatahi Suicide Prevention Fund rested with Willie Jackson, the Minister of Māori Development, his office said.”
Did that actually happen Average Joe? I think there has been a fair amount published on potential conflict of interest but in relation to suicide prevention?
Thanks Joe. Don’t pay for Herald
It’s no surprise for Aucklandlers who endured the most restrictions on freedoms bar none in NZ. 4 months of being penned in by police border guards last year under heavy restrictions, on top of the February lockdown on top of the August 2020 lockdown, on top of the original lockdowns, really did some damage to its people’s hearts and minds.
The endless stories of woe, doom and pestilence in the media added to the fun. The endless list of experts predicting the end of time and, the “covid deaths” that turned out to be dying WITH as opposed to “of” was a galling realisation still not openly admitted by our government that all this pain was based on dodgy stats that only added to the overall hopelessness of the situation.
The covid response transformed the CBD into a wasteland dominated by the dual effect of our governments direction to use it as a dumping ground for MSD dysfunction and quarantine facility, all in one. But that was only visible when we were privileged enough to be able to leave our streets without breaking the law for doing so. And we knew it was bad as our Prime Minister avoided her electorate and the city like the plague for months. And we ain’t seen much of her since!
It doesn’t take hindsight to see how bad all of this was for people’s mental health and why!
I find it interesting that there is no acknowledgement that the current crisis unfolding at Middlemore is not due to covid BUT TO THE FUCKING FLU. That’s right the common cold. The one that you don’t have mandates for, nor masks nor close the international border off for and report all the deaths associated with it.
Never saw this fucker coming………….
Unless you live under a Frank you should have seen health experts concerned about a bad flu season due to lack of exposure. By the way the are advertising seasonal flu shots too.
I never knew you got the flu from fucking. That’s an interesting one. Or is this just your own experience Frank the bull-dozey
True!
Covid itself did far less damage then the lockdowns.
Well duh Andrew. The lockdowns prevented the early variants from cutting loose
Yes. But imagine the whining we would have been spared from the elderly boomers who continue to rule the roost and would have been first on the chopping block with OG Covid. /s
Ouch but yep
@Joe
Because if they gave it to Mike King he would use it. For actual mental health.
and that would also show that the state isn’t always the best at delivering services. More often than not private enterprise and charities are more effective and we can’t have the proles seeing that now can we?
Absolutely infuriating Martyn.
It is notable that two of the most notable proponents of evil neoliberal capitalism of the past century, Ronald Reagan and Enoch Powell, were great supporters of destroying effective healthcare for the mentally ill. This clock must be turned back.
Too many worried well self identifying as mentally ill and stretching the mental health services for those that are mentally ill and can’t access them.
The media seem to feel ‘mental health’ is now one of their buzz words.
As people have pointed out, Mike King who seems to do genuinely good work is not woke enough for the government funding until a lot of media attention about his lack of funding.
Another example of the wrong type of Maori for larger woke funding until he finally got $600k but only after a lot of media. Maybe if he was part Asian, had domestic violence charges, a regular on government task forces and media hound and had gang links, he could be good for 3 million in funding instead of being a boring, local Maori community activist trying to genuinely help youth.
You missed out the 850 FTEs Martyn
And as that classic movie quote goes, “What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society who abandons him and treats him like trash?”
Multiply that by *how* many thousand? Yikes!
News about USA mayhem amongst politicians and their shootings is bad for my mental health.
News about terrible treatment of NZ jail prisoners so they come out worse than they went in and then go and prey on the same people again is bad for my mental heallt…
News about Palestinians being hit by rockets for every rock thrown etc… is bad for my mental heal…
News about foreigners coming here and buying up expensive houses for some real assets for their notional wealth and being given residency or something is bad for my mental hea….
And I could go on in the same vein until there isn’t anything left of my mental h…
Covid is just another damaging piece of negative setbaxk for society in the 21st century when civilisation is at its height and sharpest. I think we’re on the downward line on the Bell Curve.
Here’s about it, doesn’t matter if we don’t really understand it as it will happen to us anyway and smart types will be happy to administer it because it is modern and their salary depends on going along for the ride whether it has good, or bad, outcomes. The decision of value depends on using another set of terms and standards.
Here is some detail:
The term “bell curve” is used to describe a graphical depiction of a normal probability distribution, whose underlying standard deviations from the mean create the curved bell shape. A standard deviation is a measurement used to quantify the variability of data dispersion, in a set of given values around the mean.
Bell Curve Definition – Investopedia
https://www.investopedia.com › terms › bell-curve
Good point, well said.
My feeling is that it is everyone’s responsibility to be aware of and maintain their own bloody mental health, along with their bloody physical health.
For physical health you need exercise. I understood this back in the late 1960s, and then noticed that if I exercised, my mental conditions all improved, so I jogged for fitness most of my life, then noticed after jogging that I felt emotionally better as well.
Most people are too lazy to even try this nowadays, I say this as a relief teacher at a secondary school, and my assessment is that most teenagers are less active physically than formally. No, I did not do a formal scientific survey, but…
Small wonder that mental health is receding, when most people thought during lockdown that a simple walk around the block was significant exercise.
The 5 beds comment is a bullshit Tory 1950’s thought that all mental health patients end up on beds or couches. They need more professional staff and thats what the tories never attempted to achieved, they put 0$$$$ into any health spending. I listen to what the professionals and managers say not right wing media and tory speak, I had a brother in law live with us for 20 years and recently when he got difficult to look after we managed to find facilities that give him a good life.
“Up until now, we’ve never had quite such a dramatic event that’s changed large numbers of people’s rhythms,” researcher Richard Porter said.
Music will save us. It comes from the soul or somewhere near that region and affects our rhythms. (Makes me think of Rhythm and Vines- December this year – but that’s watching others, not doing the singing together. We have to stop being spectators.)
Rhythm of Life – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvVs_s1IbrU
Fantastically well sung. Have you noticed how little music you hear arising naturally from people during the day; we seem such a stolid lot, need alcohol to release emotion but too often it is anger. If NZ could combine and sing love songs, positive songs, Steeleye Span type all together, in time, as a cohort we would be as high as Aoraki without cannabis. Though some of it to celebrate with a peace pipe after would be good.
Look at these Dutch men giving it all they’ve got. They can do it why can’t our men and women. The Dutch both sing and succeed against difficult conditions! The Dutch have more go than us I think, and they have got behind all sorts of enterprise after coming here post WW2 particularly. We could learn from them couldn’t we – in the next 3 years maybe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xwy63NbzAQ
NederlandZingt
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‘The rhythm of life’ wordt gezongen door het Urker Mannen Ensemble. Deze opname vond plaats tijdens een Nederland Zingt avond in de Grote Kerk in Harlingen.
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