The Mental-Health-Care System Isn’t Ready for Covid-19 Either
Stress, fear, and grief are on the rise, and demand for remote therapy has already spiked.
Illustration: Saehan Parc for Bloomberg Businessweek
Those uneasy feelings you’re likely having right now—the disorientation, the low-lying fear that gets more intense at night, the helplessness, the tightness in your chest—there’s a medical term for that. Mental health professionals call it adjustment disorder, or symptoms that occur in people who are having trouble coping with everyday life as a result of a major disruption or loss.
Life during a pandemic has even the most resilient drowning in new levels of stress. School and work closures around the world look like they might stretch on for months. The volatile markets and sudden job losses have added a layer of economic insecurity that wasn’t a factor in people’s lives just a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the rates of novel coronavirus infections are rising exponentially, creating worries about what day-to-day activities are safe. For those at highest risk of complications or already ill, there’s the fear of getting sick, or sicker. In the worst cases, there’s the grief of losing loved ones.