Unable to meet therapists, added anxiety – How mental health patients are dealing with lockdown

NEW DELHI: Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, people already diagnosed with mental health conditions have been  among some of the hardest hit as a lot of their treatment is dependent on sharing a physical space with their  doctors and therapists. Several mental health professionals said that people with mental health conditions have been severely affected by the lockdown. One doctor in Delhi NCR  said that not being able to  meet their doctors and therapists due to the lockdown  is having an adverse effect on patients with anxiety and depressive disorders and peo-  ple who are on the Autism  spectrum.

"A lot of people on the spectrum often rely on a strict  routine, which has been dis- turbed in the last few weeks," she said. Another therapist based in Kolkata said that this was a crucial time for patients to be able to stay in touch with  their doctors because "in usual times, whenever a patient feels disturbed they are able to visit  their therapists and seek help". But she said the lockdown was  resulting in patients having  to settle for phone or video consultations.

"It gets very difficult for  us as therapists to treat our patients as well. A lot of our analysis also depends on phys- ical and visual cues shown by the patient," a therapist based  in Mumbai said, adding that patients often need to share a physical space with their doc- tors to feel that they are being heard.

Dr P Bhattacharya in Kolkata said that it is best for  patients to maintain structure in their daily lives during these times and follow it as much as possible.

"In a lot of instances, we are unable to provide the required therapy to the patients through phones," she said. Other thera- pists also insisted on the need to follow a routine.

One psychologist in Delhi  suggested, "Even if you are working from home, it is best if you follow a particular sleep schedule and wake up and dress for work to feel like the daily routine is not as disrupted." Moreover, Dr Poojashivam Jaitly, a mental health professional in Delhi NCR said that the COVID-19 crisis and the

lockdown had also increased  the number of people who are at risk of developing anx- iety and depression-related disorders. "A lot of the times, people

do not realise that they might  be on the border of an anxi- ety disorder because their lives keep them extremely busy," she said, adding that the lock- down was resulting in more of  these people developing mild forms of anxiety, panic and depression. In addition, mental health professionals said that many patients already suffering from anxiety and depression have what is known as "cat- astrophic" or "dichotomous" thinking.

In such situations, patients often think about extreme consequences. "So, all theinformation about COVID- 19 wreaking havoc across the world, in a way, validates their thinking, which car- ried the potential for these patients to act out in disas- trous ways," another therapist said. Dr Jaitly added that the

COVID-19 lockdown has  also resulted in a spike in mood disorders among urban populations, who are constantly thinking about how or whether the world will

be able to recover from the pandemic.  "A lot of people are also having to think about losing jobs, losing investments and that is another thing that the urban population must come to terms with," she said.