Page 21 - LRCC May 2022 Focus

One of the most prevalent themes of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the
alarming growth in mental health challenges faced in the workplace. Remote
work has resulted in worker isolation and loss of connectedness and has been a
significant driver of emotional and mental health issues. Health care workers, who
have remained at the bedside, have also faced significantly ill patients and dealt
with families not being able to visit. An increase in death and dying issues has led
to a rise in stress, anxiety, burnout, and depression.

Lyra Health’s 2022 State of Workforce Mental Health reports that employees’
mental health is low. Thirty-one percent of employees surveyed reported their
mental health had declined in the past year, increasing 24 percent over pre-
pandemic levels. Eighty-four percent of workers said they experienced at least one
mental health challenge in the past year. The World Health Association reported
that anxiety and depression had increased 25 percent. According to the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC), four in 10 adults have reported symptoms of anxiety
and depressive disorders, up from one in 10 adults before the pandemic. Sleep
disorders and substance abuse issues have increased among adults. Fifty-one
percent of adults say they have had worry or stress-related problems since the
pandemic and those challenges have damaged their overall health.

“Since the pandemic and quarantine, a sense of loneliness, anxiety, fear of the
unknown, and isolation have increased anxiety and depression,” said Linda
Peterson, M.D., chief medical officer at McLaren Greater Lansing (MGL). “This has
led to increased self-medication with alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. It is a vicious
cycle that has led to increased suicide rates across the country.”

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said that before COVID, public health
officials were working on the opioid epidemic. Just when it seemed that some
inroads were being made in the battle, COVID sent things in the other direction.

“We had really been working on that and numbers were plateauing, and then they
started shooting back up again,” said Vail. “We are seeing many people struggle
with getting into and staying in recovery, likely due to the loss of connections that
have been disrupted during the pandemic.”

Vail said the longer-term impact of mental health challenges will include figuring
Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels “The pandemic thrust us into this use of technology far beyond what we have
out how to adjust to the shift to virtual communications, which affects how we
conduct meetings, conferences, and daily work.

ever done before – pushing us into a new social shift in terms of how society is
organized,” said Vail.

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