Page 174 - COVID-19: The Great Reset

collective state of anguish. The inability to make plans or engage
in specific activities that used to be intrinsic parts of our normal life

and vital sources of pleasure (like visiting family and friends
abroad, planning ahead for the next term at university, applying for
a new job) has the potential to leave us confused and
demoralized. For many people, the strains and stresses of the

immediate dilemmas that followed the end of lockdowns will last
for months. Is it safe to go on public transport? Is it too risky to go
to a favourite restaurant? Is it appropriate to visit this elderly family
member or friend? For a long time to come, these very banal

decisions will be tainted with a sense of dread – particularly for
those who are vulnerable because of their age or health condition.

At the time of writing (June 2020), the impact of the pandemic
in terms of mental health cannot be quantified or assessed in a
generalized way, but the broad contours are known. In a nutshell:

1) individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions like
depression will increasingly suffer from anxiety disorders; 2)
social-distancing measures, even after they’ve been rolled back,

will have worsened mental health issues; 3) in many families, the
loss of income consecutive to unemployment will plunge people
into the “death of despair” phenomenon; 4) domestic violence and
abuse, particularly against women and children, will increase as
long as the pandemic endures; and 5) “vulnerable” people and

children – those in care, the socio-economically disadvantaged
and the disabled in need of an above-average level of support –
will be particularly at risk of increased mental distress. Let us

review below some of these in greater detail.

For many, an explosion of mental problems occurred during
the first months of the pandemic and will continue to progress in
the post-pandemic era. In March 2020 (at the onset of the
pandemic), a group of researchers published a study in The

Lancet that found that confinement measures produced a range of
severe mental health outcomes, such as trauma, confusion and
anger. [153] Although avoiding the most severe mental health

issues, a large portion of the world population is bound to have
suffered stress to various degrees. First and foremost, it is among
those already prone to mental health issues that the challenges

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