by Tara Sottile
Photo credit: psychiatryadvisor.com
COVID-19 is posing many challenges for people when it comes to their mental health.
Dr. Sean O’Brien is a psychologist in Durham Region. The majority of clients he sees are first responders - such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and even people in the army.
He says the pandemic is having a large impact on the people he speaks to, especially first responders.
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How is the social isolation aspect of the pandemic affecting people’s mental health?
I have to say, for the most part, I'm seeing a pretty negative influence. You know, in my practice and a lot of the patients I've been dealing with, I'm probably seeing a two-fold increase, and things like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and so on. And that's just because a lot of people are facing unprecedented stress. I mean, social isolation, as you noted, but in addition, people are under financial stress. People are seriously concerned about their well-being and the well-being of loved ones, especially if they've been hospitalized or in old age homes, retirement facilities, and so on. However, at the same time, I think it's important to note that despite all the extra stress, I think there's also been some really positive impacts in some unique ways. And, you know, I think, especially here in Canada, one of the things that I've really been hearing from people is that they've been reassured, not only in how people have been adjusting to the pandemic and maintaining things like social isolation or physical distancing. In some ways, the pandemic has really brought out the best in people. You look at the work in the military, the healthcare responders, people on the frontlines in places like Walmart and the grocery stores who are just essentially really taking care of one another. They're really there to help out.
What do you believe will come from the pandemic and people’s mental health? How do you think this will impact them in the long run?
I think in the short-term, we're going to see an influx of mental health difficulties. I mean, a lot of people have not been able to see their practitioners, their family doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and so on. So, I think we're going to see an increase in symptomatology. There's probably going to be a short-term mental health pandemic after all of this. You know, I've dealt with a lot of people in health care, one individual in particular, whose role is to liaison between patients with COVID and their family members. And what really makes it hard for people like this is that they're having patients die and then dealing with family members who can't be there during the final moments of a loved one's life. And, you know, that brings us such incredible stress. And I think post-traumatic stress conditions in that population are going to go up. On the other hand, what I'm hoping for is, in the long run, what I see with people is Canadians have been incredibly adaptable. And I think that's what we're going to see long-term is, we're going to face a lot of challenges. But I think for the most part, we're going to adapt, we're going to adjust, and we're going to put in things that we need to keep people safe and well, including in the mental health system.
What kind of changes have people made when it comes to their therapy? Are there people still coming in to see you, or are you mostly online?
I primarily switched to online. And again, we've adapted, we've adjusted. There are still some people that I need to see in-person that are, you know, struggling with some pretty significant mental health issues, whether it's severe post-traumatic stress, seeing a lot of people, my practice is filled with first responders. So, I see a lot of people in the police and military are working the emerges and so on. So, they're under tremendous stress. And for some of those people, I want to see them in-person, just because we got to keep them well, and we got to help them as they help others. But with other folks, again, we adapt. It was interesting when the pandemic really intensified and we were told to physically distance ourselves from others. I was able to work with some technology companies to set up an encrypted teleconferencing platform in like three hours. So, they really stepped up.
What would you tell people who are struggling during this time?
I think if we use our attentional focus, we could really focus on the negative and the catastrophic things or we could focus on some of the beautiful things that are going on out there. And I think that's the one thing I would advise people is – take a moment, take a look around and really appreciate some of the wonderful things we have. And I think that really helps us to feel better, not only about ourselves and our society, but it helps to moderate any of the depression or anxiety that we could be experiencing.
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