Mental Health Awareness Week: How COVID-19 fueled global rise in stress, loneliness

Mental Health Awareness Week: How COVID-19 fueled global rise in stress, loneliness

The COVID-19 pandemic left millions of people locked inside their homes, restricting their social interaction with others – a fundamental part of maintaining one’s mental health – leading to greater anxiety, loneliness, and stress.

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Al Arabiya English spoke to mental health experts in the United Arab Emirates who weighed in on the world’s post-pandemic state of mental health.

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Psychiatry specialist Dr. Mohamed Abdelbadie Elsayed Ahmed Ismail of Burjeel Royal Hospital in Al Ain said that the “global prevalence of anxiety and depression” has increased exponentially since the pandemic’s onset.

Ismail said that he has seen the direct effect of this at the hospital’s psychiatry clinic.

“We have noticed a higher incidence of anxiety and depressive disorders during the last year. The increase in stress factors, including loneliness, fear of disease and financial worries, has led to a rise in mental health issues among people,” he explained.

“This indicates an urgent need to increase access to mental health services.”

Several studies from notable universities, market research agencies, and even the United Nations’ World Health Organization have registered a larger than average increase in anxietyand depressive disorder symptoms