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Tuesday, 07 Sep 2021, 1:00 PM MYT |
| By Prof. Dato’ Andrew Mohanraj |
In the last two decades, several pandemics worldwide have yielded insights on the mental health impact of such events.
However, the current Covid-19 pandemic has been somewhat less predictable.
In addition to the sudden psychological decompensation (reflected by the increase in number of consultations and calls to helplines), a spike in the number of suicides could have been related to loss of income, loneliness and the sudden change in lifestyle.
Based on these recent experiences, and given the magnitude and peculiarity of the current pandemic, this scenario is likely to stay with us for some time, even when the pandemic starts to resolve.
Indeed, the Covid-19 public health crisis has turned into a mental health crisis.