I know someone who committed suicide, with an overdose during the height of our World Pandemic.
Loneliness, with the advent of ISOLATION, can be a risk factor in a range of health issues, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse to domestic abuse. These are problems that are unsurprisingly increasing as we're told again & again to LOCK-DOWN, during the Pandemic. It's become an insane word; how crazy, isn't it?
One demographic is feeling the effects of isolation more than others. A Canadian Mental Health survey indicates those from age 18-24 are more likely to suffer mental health problems during pandemic than any age group.
According to this survey, 63% of young people are suffering significant symptoms of anxiety/depression. Near a quarter of respondents reported that they had started or increased abuse of substances, including alcohol, marijuana to prescribed drugs, to cope with their emotions. Their experiences during the pandemic put them at risk of developing PTSD. This is an alarming trend that we’ve seen emerge anecdotally, that this Pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on the mental health of a big % of young people. Stay well & optimistic.