The coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, abuse of alcohol and psychoactive substances, and even the occurrence of suicide, but the state has paid little attention to this problem.
In anticipation of the World Mental Health Day, which is celebrated on October 10, Montenegro does not even have an established national SOS line for suicide prevention, although only during the first three months of this year, as many as 30 people took their own lives.
"Precisely because the number of people with psychiatric problems can be expected to increase after the pandemic, it is important to have an applicable strategy both during and after the pandemic to strengthen the individual, but also to create a system that will protect him. The lack of SOS lines for suicide prevention, as well as the decrease in the number of available help lines after the first few months of the epidemic, suggests that mental health in our country is underestimated by the competent authorities", Milena Petrović assessed for "Vijesti" from the Union of Doctors of Medicine, specialist in psychiatry.
She said that no one is spared the stress and feeling of uncertainty, especially in the first months of the pandemic. Petrović believes that the pandemic most affects elderly people who live alone and are often chronically ill, then people who were in a difficult socioeconomic situation even before covid-19, and their insecurity in basic existence has deepened, as well as victims of domestic violence.
"Children and parents of children with developmental disabilities, as well as all children, are significantly affected because schooling has been modified due to the pandemic. I would like to emphasize the impact on healthcare workers who have been under a lot of pressure since the first day of the pandemic. The latest research by the Union of Medical Doctors on burnout syndrome among doctors showed that over 90 percent of Montenegrin doctors who worked in the covid zone already have burnout syndrome, which is characterized by extreme workload and chronic fatigue," said Petrović.
She replied that anxiety, depression, abuse of alcohol and psychoactive substances, and occasionally even suicidality are among the psychiatric conditions that can be most associated with the pandemic, and which are on the rise.
"All these conditions are accompanied by a feeling of fear for one's own health, as well as the health of loved ones, uncertainty, loneliness, feelings of hopelessness, loss of control over one's own life. Certain chronic patients experienced significant anxiety related to the uncertain availability of their psychiatrists, as well as fear of interruption of daily activities, which have a positive effect on their mental health," she explained.
Petrović said that every stress engages compensatory mechanisms, the task of which is to help a person cope with the situation in which he finds himself.
"During the pandemic, various psychological defenses are present, the purpose of which is to protect the personality from stress. Some of them are useful - for example humor, which helps to reduce the feeling of tension, but there are also very harmful ones, such as the feeling that we are untouchable and that illness will not happen to us and our loved ones, which can lead to irresponsible behavior and spread of infection. What they all have in common is that as time passes, our energy is increasingly depleted and defenses become weak. Then we face the authentic feelings we have such as fear, nervousness, sadness, loneliness. This is precisely why a large number of patients come forward who need help to cope with this condition," said Petrović.
She said that it is a big challenge for mental health that we have to admit that we will have to fight the pandemic indefinitely.
"After the covid crisis, a number of people, when they return to their routine, will get rid of the problems that arose during its duration. However, there is a certain, not insignificant number of those whose complaints will persist or even worsen after its completion. Throughout history, after the end of natural disasters, there is often an increased number of people struggling with anxiety, depression, even suicidality, so the same phenomenon can be expected after a pandemic. This is contributed by the situation in which many were faced with the loss of their loved ones, but were also severely affected in the economic sense, and their fear for existence is justified", concluded Petrović.
Free youth treatments needed
Petrović concluded that it would be useful to create a strategy that promotes the importance of mental health and mental hygiene and reduces stigma, and enables easy availability of the necessary psychiatric and psychological examinations.
"It would be useful to have free psychotherapeutic treatments, especially for the younger population, but also the promotion of all psychological support networks that exist in our country so that people know who and how to contact them," she said.
Petrović said that an important factor for each individual is spending time with loved ones and openly talking about feelings.
"Now that the vaccines are available, we should take advantage of them, and gradually, while observing the measures, safely return to normal life," she pointed out.
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