Here & Now

Is COVID Affecting Those with Mental Illnesses

Frederica Freyberg:

Even people not putting their lives on the line when they report to work are experiencing increased struggles with mental health because maybe they’re out of work or the fear of a pressing pandemic and its isolation closes in. We check in on mental health concerns during the pandemic now with Dr. Ned Kalin. He’s the chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the UW School of Medicine. Thanks very much for joining us.

Ned Kalin:

Thank you for inviting me, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

So there are myriad reports about the negative effects of the pandemic on mental health, including numbers from the CDC that something like 40% of Americans are struggling with it or drug abuse and 75% of young people are also struggling. What are you seeing?

Ned Kalin:

So we’re seeing the same thing here in Madison, in Wisconsin, and in our community, an increased need for mental health services, a tremendous amount of stress in the community and all of the things you’ve enumerated are critical from the standpoint of thinking about the chronic and severe stress people are facing. So it’s an ongoing stressor. It’s coming in different waves. There’s so much uncertainty and loss and worry that it’s sort of expected that you would be seeing this. We’re actually thinking about this as the next epidemic from the standpoint — in relation to COVID, the aftermath.

Frederica Freyberg:

If there is so much need and demand for services, what is that like in the midst of frontline workers in hospitals and clinics doing the work of treating COVID patients?

Ned Kalin:

So it’s really important to keep in mind that the frontline workers are especially stressed and obviously they’re very critical for all of us from the standpoint of our making it through this in as healthy a way as possible. We, at the university, are working hard to support our colleagues on the front lines and are actually offering support groups and helping them build resilience and a variety of other measures that we can do to help support and help people working and feeling okay.

Frederica Freyberg:

So economic conditions are out of the control of individuals and the loss of jobs or not having enough money for basic needs obviously would bring on anxiety. How does that then dovetail with the fear of this lurking coronavirus or worse the loss of loved ones? I mean it’s just unrelenting it would seem.

Ned Kalin:

You’ve got it exactly right. It’s unrelenting and there are multiple stressors coming together, any one of which would be a huge stressor. The idea that all these are occurring at the same time that they’re ongoing, that we don’t know when they’re going to stop and that we’re even worrying for our well-being and our lives and our lives of our family is overwhelming. And that’s really the problem from the standpoint of the increased stress, increased depression and anxiety and substance use that we’re seeing.

Frederica Freyberg:

Have you ever seen anything like this?

Ned Kalin:

Never seen anything like this and it’s remarkable. The other side of it is that many people, as you know, are very resilient as well and they’ve figured out ways to adapt and get through it. And so what we want to do is help people draw on their own strengths in a way that can make them as resilient and adaptive as possible during this really, really difficult time.

Frederica Freyberg:

Why is it particularly hard at least according to the numbers I’ve looked at for young people, even children?

Ned Kalin:

So everybody’s affected, but young people I think have less of a perspective and less of an understanding of what’s happening at times. They really require significant structure. Not being in school or not being in school the same way, not having the same playmates, having to wear a mask, all of a sudden being in a world where you’ve got to be scared of catching something that you can’t even see and dying from that, it’s extremely heavy-duty and I think the younger the person is, the harder it is to comprehend that. Children need support. It’s just really, really difficult.

Frederica Freyberg:

With less than a minute left, doctor, how can we all help?

Ned Kalin:

So I think the first thing is to be open to the idea that this is a really tough time and it’s okay to struggle and it’s okay to have some anxiety and a little depression. That that’s normal. The second thing is to go out of our way to reach out and support each other. Even though we’re physically distancing doesn’t mean we can’t be reaching out, making that extra phone call that you think you want to do but you decided yesterday you weren’t going to do. And really thinking about activities that can be helpful from the standpoint of things like exercise, walking, distracting yourself from the news, things like that. They’re all sort of basic things, but if you do them every day, they can add up and help build your resilience and help get you through this.

Frederica Freyberg:

Thank you so much for your information, Dr. Ned Kalin.

Ned Kalin:

You’re welcome. Thank you.