Most governments around the world are preparing for a sharp rise in suicides following COVID-19. The Australian Bureau of Statistics who is responsible for publicising health related statistics nationally has not reported a significant rise in suicides during the COVID crisis. This seems strange, especially given the dramatic changes to individual’s finances and social connectivity during the last nine months, especially here in Victoria, the home of the world’s longest lockdown.
Holding pattern
There is a general consensus that the important thing is to just keep going.
This means pulling out all stops to ensure businesses survive, that work from home arrangements remain viable, that tensions amongst family members are kept to tolerable levels, and that isolation is survived. This is all maintained through the assumption that ‘it has to end at some point, right?’.
However, it is during this holding pattern that simmering tensions often bubble to the surface. As a society we are not used to living in each other’s pocket, without traditional forms of self-care at our disposal.
We have been unable to attend gyms, go for hikes in the country, or even get together for informal chats with mates in a social environment. But we are also committed to putting these needs largely on hold while COVID restrictions are in place. What happens when they ease, and life goes back to a new-normal?
Social disconnect
The biggest risk that we face once restrictions ease is that sections of the community will return to life as normal, while another section will be forced to continue surviving as per COVID conditions. How come you might ask?
A sizeable proportion of the community will have lost their employment as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, there has been substantial breakdowns in conventional social support structures, such as participation in team sports, religious observance, and other informal forms of social support. There has also been a significant rise in mental health related symptoms such as depression, anxiety and specific fears around contagion and of the death.
There is no easy fix for any of these very serious outcomes of the pandemic. What will compound these ill-effects is seeing people around us return to life pre-COVID, with gainful employment, and social connection. It is when this happens that at risk individuals start to ask, ‘why me?’
What can we do?
As a community we need to be increasingly aware that COVID has had profound impacts on all us. Some of us have lost our dear loved ones through this crisis. Others, who had already experienced marginalisation from society, such as our LGBTIQ+ community members and recent migrant arrivals will have these significant stressors continue, much longer than they need to.
This is the time when we need to assertively reach out to each other, ensuring that every individual is reminded of the fact that they are valued and that they have people looking out for them.
We expect there to be an increase in demand for mental health services. And quite rightly so, when what has emerged for many of us are long simmering traumas, that have been carefully managed thus far. However COVID has in many ways done a number on all of us, exposing the fault lines that were always there in some shape or form.
Now is the time to reach out for help if you need it.
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