The mind and Covid-19: Two monsters in pandemic.

 We can all agree that there are two monsters in this pandemic, a silent one, which is the mind and the mediatic one, which is the physical effects of this disease in our body. 

Sadly, the mind and their health its still a topic that is not openly spoken, because there is still a lot of taboo in this subject. There is not a culture where people goes to the psychologist or psychiatrist as part of their routine, difference of the culture of going to a general doctor, not because we are sick, just for control, and i found that incredible, to live in a world were mental health it's not as important as other aspects in medicine. 

Due to this pandemic this topic is getting worst, and for me is also one of the biggest challenges of this times. Covid-19 has caused in many people the increase of anxiety, fear and anguish because the actual disease or for the social isolation. According to the Vice Minister of Colombia, he indicated that all these effects of the pandemic are combined with daily living, with our historical mental health problems such as violence, depression, suicide, the consumption of psychoactive substances, alcohol, among other. It also revealed that international evidence on the psychological impacts of quarantine points to the effects of post-traumatic stress and confusion and anger associated with fears of infection, frustration, boredom, loss, stigma, etc.

In my personal opinion, i have seen pretty closely the effects of this disease in people's mental health. I have a family member that suffers anxiety, and everything that the covid has done is just negative stuff in their minds. We, as society, and in the particular case of Colombia don't have the best attention for this type of cases, and we haven't seen the importance of the mental health. 

"The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or paralyzed essential mental health services in 93% of the world's countries, while increasing demand for mental health care" (OMS, 2020). 

With all of this, we can clearly see that this subject should be part of our daily conversations and part of our routine, be aware of our mental health. So, the people that suffers this disease can treat them like that, like a disease , without being ashamed of them and the whole world should be aware that its normal that our mental health is deteriorating thanks to the pandemic, and every country should do something about it, how to properly allocate resources to all health issues, not only a part of our health is important.

It's time to open our minds, and stop turning this issue into a smokescreen, which from my point of view is too dangerous. This pandemic only showcase the multiples failures that we have as society and it's our obligation to do something about it. 


References


OMS (2020) Los servicios de salud mental se están viendo perturbados por la Covid-19 en la mayoría de los países, según estudio de la OMS. Taken from https://www.who.int/es/news/item/05-10-2020-covid-19-disrupting-mental-health-services-in-most-countries-who-survey

Minsalud (2021) Salud mental, uno de los principales retos de la pandemia. Taken from https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Paginas/Salud-mental-uno-de-los-principales-retos-de-la-pandemia.aspx

Universidad de la Sabana (2019) Tabú alrededor de la salud mental: peligrosa cortina de humo. Taken from https://www.clinicaunisabana.edu.co/pacientes/educacionalpaciente/educacion-articulos/salud-mental/tabu-alrededor-de-la-salud-mental-peligrosa-cortina-de-humo/


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