A big mental health crisis looms over people across the world as a large-scale consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the experts.
Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said even when the coronavirus outbreak is under control, there will be ‘profound’ long-term repercussions.
He reportedly told the Guardian: “It is probably the biggest hit to mental health since the Second World War. It doesn't stop when the virus is under control and there are few people in the hospital. You've got to fund the long-term consequences.”
The report also suggested that around 10 million people, including 1.5 million children, likely need additional mental health support as a direct result of the crisis.
“It is probably the biggest hit to mental health since the second world war. It doesn’t stop when the virus is under control and there are few people in the hospital. You’ve got to fund the long-term consequences,” James added.
According to the NHS Digital data, rates of probable mental disorders have increased since 2017. In 2020, one in six (16.0 per cent) children aged 5 to 16 years were identified as having a probable mental disorder, increasing from one in nine (10.8 per cent) in 2017. The increase was evident in both boys and girls.
Meanwhile, researchers in the US have also found in a study that there is a high prevalence of mental disorders across populations affected by coronavirus pandemics, as per the earlier report.
The study noted that psychiatric morbidity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were the most prevalent disorders among most populations.