How to face the third year of the global epidemic? Expert: There has been a surge in counseling seeking psychological counseling

As the global COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, the psychological trauma caused by the pandemic is becoming more and more concerned.

Some public health experts believe that many people are struggling to cope with the dramatic emotional and social changes brought about by the epidemic, however, as lockdowns around the world are gradually lifted, many find it difficult to adapt to "normalcy". Many psychologists and psychiatrists say the unprecedented global public health crisis has led to an increase in anxiety and depression cases and exacerbated existing psychological problems, with a surge in counseling seeking psychological counseling during the pandemic.

Valentine Raiteri, a psychiatrist based in New York, said: "I've never been so busy in my life, and I've never seen my colleagues so busy. I couldn't refer patients to other doctors because each doctor's visit was full and I had to stop accepting new patients. Ltech said that many of his patients are still isolated at home, working remotely, many have "disconnected and lost" discomfort, while he admits that he can not do anything, "I can treat the disease, but can not eliminate the mental stress."

Numerous studies are validating the negative impact of the pandemic on mental health. Researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Queensland in Australia, published a research paper last year in the medical journal The Lancet, which for the first time assessed the impact of COVID-19 on major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, covering 204 countries and regions around the world, and found that people's mental health deteriorated sharply in 2020, with about 53 million new cases of major depression and 76 million new cases of anxiety disorders worldwide.

In the spring of 2020, at the beginning of the epidemic, people had little idea of how long the epidemic would last. Psychologists say people showed remarkable resilience in the first few months of the outbreak, especially during the period when many countries entered an unprecedented lockdown.

LTECH said the lack of daily social activity began to damage over time. "The long-term uncertainty and change that makes people feel isolated and don't know how to socialize is bound to have a huge impact on mental health." He said.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide to date has exceeded 400 million and the number of deaths has exceeded 5.7 million.

Bereavement, isolation, uncertainty and loss of freedom, relationships and special moments... These are just some of the issues that have affected many people during the pandemic. Psychologists believe that the epidemic may be in the "closing" stage, but the impact of the new crown on mental health is likely to last for many years.

Alex Desatnik, a British clinical psychologist who works for both adults and children, said many young people miss important milestones and key experiences in their formative years because of the pandemic, and the damage caused by these misses will take at least a generation to make up for it. "Children who grow up in such an environment, those deficiencies will accompany them for the rest of their lives. I hope that the whole society as much as possible will take measures to compensate for what has happened, and in fact, those misses are still happening. He said.

For now, countries that are widely vaccinated and boosters are trying to try to return to normalcy, but wearing masks and COVID-19 testing could become part of people's lives.

Natalie Bodart, a clinical psychologist in London, said: "I think what we may need to face at this stage is that we are not really going back to the past, and there is no way to go back to the past. We've entered a very mixed lifestyle that companies and most places seem to accept that mixing will continue. Perhaps for a certain generation, this is the first time that this major life shift has occurred. ”