Why is it important to focus on mental health during the pandemic?
Over the past few years, mental health has become more present in our discussions and there seems to be an uprise in awareness as people and celebrities like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles are prioritizing their mental health and are taking a step away from competitions, from school and from work in order to deal with it. In spite of the fact that public health emergency measures helped flatten the curve and reduce the spread of COVID-19, the emergency measures also negatively affected the mental wellbeing of people around the world and is also a major cause of deterioration of mental health at this time. During the pandemic, many of us experienced the feeling of loneliness, fear and of uncertainty which often lead to stress, nervous breakdowns, panic attacks and ultimately poor mental health. According to Statistics Canada, youth have experienced the greatest mental health declines since the pandemic began and one of the report’s greatest declines was youth aged 15-24, from 60% of poor mental health (pre-COVID) to 40% of poor mental health (July 2020).
The graph below displays the ‘Canadian’s self-perceived poor mental health by age group during the pandemic’ by Headstrong
According to the graph above, youth from the ages 15-24 had the most self-perceived mental health decline amongst other age groups and older adults aged 65 and older had the least. This is concerning, considering the fact that younger Canadians are experiencing the most mental health decline. In an effort to help improve younger Canadian’s mental health during a pandemic, we must create awareness to help younger Canadians know that it is okay to ask for help and that it is perfectly okay to not feel okay. Thus, we must focus on mental health during the pandemic to help increase awareness amongst children, youth and families and help those that are suffering in silence to speak out about the issue.
And there you have it, folks!