Living through the Covid-19 pandemic, our lives have been changed forever. The pandemic has not only caused unimaginable human suffering it has also challenged us individually and on a societal level.
Covid-19 - changed behaviours
The pandemic is affecting people, their relationships and trust in institutions, their sense of belonging and personal security. Behaviours have changed, people seem more pre-occupied and in some cases, they have become invisible; in other cases, they have become mean-spirited.
Governments' job
Governments should be protecting everyone equally, but studies show the impacts will be particularly severe for the most disadvantaged. While governments should be acting to continue to contain the spread of the virus, countries also need to assess the impacts of the disease on all aspects of people’s lives, especially those most vulnerable.
Covid - cases are still rising
Cases are still rising in most affected countries. In addition to the obvious risks to physical health and to the economy, the epidemic is also affecting people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Countries’ response to the pandemic also need to address the well-being perspective in a holistic and integrated manner. Failing to do so risks deepening inequalities, possibly creating new divides, and undermining the cohesiveness of societies. (Source: https://www.oecd.org)
Conclusion
Over the last 12 years I have and continue to write on my blog The CP Diary. I have seen first hand how mental health has steadily declined in the UK, first through Brexit that was on-going for 3 years, before the UK physically left.
The stats for my website, in its busiest period was 87,000 organic hits a year and that has now declined to 56,000 organic. That said we can still be in control of our mental health. We can all take control of our emotions, or we can ignore our emotions, and our emotions will inevitably catch up with us.
I lost my mum to cancer because she struggled with mental health. She was 67 years old. On the opposite scales, my mother-in-law, is still living. At 86 years old, and with many ailments, she is a walking medical phenomenon. No matter her physical ailments, she continues to remain mentally strong. Mental health needs to be our priority.
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Many things have changed because of the pandemic, but at the same time many things haven't. Governments have been focused more on the needs of the few, rather than the needs of the many, which means that so many are left out of the loop.
Many people are living like things have gone back to normal, when the reality is we're living in a pandemic. I grew up around a mum who was a hypochondriac, so this new world actually seems very familiar to me!
I am hoping and praying that one day things will change for the better, so that we could actually meet and talk about all these things.
Thanks Randy. Yes, the needs of the many are left out of the loop, I agree.
There is a lot happening out there, keeping our head above water is important, as is keeping our whits about us and/or being mindful about how we go about our lives. It's easy to do.
So, I have been up and down and didn't know why until Covid-19, but have come to realise they weren't my issues, but they were affecting me. My anxiety is very much down to how the UK government have been handled the pandemic.
In a pandemic, it's the government's job to keep us safe.