Ever since the second wave of the pandemic hit the district, a retired teacher in her 60s from Thripunithira had been suffering from sleeplessness and gastro issues, the treatment for which has brought little respite to her.
Eventually, she was found suffering from psychosomatic illness where the person develops symptoms of a disease while not actually having it.
“It turned out to be a classic case of gastroesophageal reflux disease [GERD], cases of which have increased considerably since the resurgence of the pandemic. It is a manifestation of anxiety and stress, and the symptoms include heartburn, indigestion, lack of appetite, and sleeplessness. In severe cases, it could even lead to depression,” said V. Sudarshana Manoj, counselling psychologist.
According to her, anxiety-driven issues have surged of late, especially among aged people who constantly live in fear of death. “That they [the elderly] are restricted to their homes with little social interaction and are active on social media that is bristling with pandemic-related forwards do not help. Television channels and newspapers painting an explosive situation also trigger their anxiety,” Ms. Manoj said.
Media critic Sebastian Paul felt that a clear separation had to be made between social media and conventional media. “While the former is throbbing with misinformation, the latter has by and large done a commendable job. In a pandemic situation, there needs to be a constant flow of credible and verified information, the absence of which could have disastrous consequences like what had happened during the Bengal famine. I don’t fully agree with the observation that media reporting has triggered anxiety,” he said while reminding the media to be judicious about the choice of words used in reporting.
Mr. Paul added that the reportage of the pandemic would only improve as the media evolved a code on their own as it did in the eighties when the phenomenon of AIDS exploded. The media adopted a code on protecting the privacy of the infected. “Any such code should be evolved out of experience rather than imposed by the government, which could turn out to be disastrous,” he observed.
S.D. Singh, a senior consultant psychiatrist at a city-based private hospital, said the government should adopt a mental health screening programme to avoid suicides and a flurry of emotional breakdowns finding reflection in increased domestic violence and excessive dependence on alcohol. “Those not mentally healthy but on treatment are better coping with the pandemic situation with a slight rearrangement of their medication, while the same cannot be said about those who are not mentally healthy but are yet to be diagnosed. A mental health programme alongside the fight against the pandemic will serve the twin purpose of identifying those with mental health issues while reaching them the benefits of treatment without stigmatising them,” he said.
Dr. Singh urged qualified mental health professionals to join hands with the government to enhance mental health alongside the battle against the pandemic.