Authors: Cube (Jacob) M. Paine, Sneed KB2, Yashwant V Pathak.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the world at large with over a hundred million cases and millions of deaths, the physical impact of the disease is obvious. There is another aspect of the pandemic’s effect, however, that is largely left under discussed. Alongside the disease itself, the COVID-19 pandemic brings the mental health challenges that the many changes from living in such a time creates.
Throughout this paper, the impact that this pandemic has had on the mental health of the population at large will be examined. Along with this, the effect of this mental health impact on the demand for mental health services will be examined. The impact of COVID-19 will also be compared with those of previous pandemics while exploring how this increase of demand is being addressed by those in the field.
To gather all the necessary information for exploring these topics, a search of the Web of Science data base was conducted. Initial searches revealed an obvious increase in mental health problems amongst the general population during the pandemic, with grief, anxiety, and depression all showing significant increases, with increases of almost 10% in some cases. Searches into the providing of mental health care in the pandemic environment quickly revealed the trend towards telemedicine in order to meet the increased demand safely. This and other changes in the field of mental health have been taking place over the course of the pandemic allowing for their effectiveness and usage to be easily studied. With all this in mind, this paper will attempt to thoroughly explore all of these ideas and paint a clear picture of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the mental health of the public and on the providing of mental health services.
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