A thread on #coronavirus and the coming #mentalhealth crisis

Two weeks ago, I wrote this piece about what it’s like being in isolation when you’re already struggling with your #mentalhealth. I wrote it because I thought it might resonate with others in a similar position, and I was bowled over by the response. https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/coronavirus-isolation-mental-illness

Among those who contacted me were people with experience of mental illness who are now really worried about how their treatment will be affected by #coronavirus. I spoke at length to 10 of them and we’ve just published a story based on that reporting https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/people-mental-health-conditions-coronavirus-treatment

It's clear that pandemic will be psychologically taxing for everyone: Lives are being upended, livelihoods threatened, loved ones endangered. NHS England is expecting a surge in demand for mental health treatment that will last long after the epidemic is over.

But it's especially alarming for those who were already grappling with a #mentalhealth condition. Suddenly, the support structures they rely on to manage their lives are in turmoil. It’s a new and highly unsettling situation for people who were already vulnerable.

“People will be at risk of mortality through suicide, injury through self-harm and of self-neglect,” NHS England has warned, but the system’s capacity will be significantly diminished because of social distancing and the NHS reprioritising resources to cope with #COVID19.

NHS #mentalhealth services were already underfunded and overburdened before the pandemic. Now, with the health system in emergency mode, people who work in mental health and those who rely on it fear those providers will be overwhelmed in the coming months.

Mental health services say they’re rushing through contingencies so that people in crisis will still get help and that the most vulnerable people in the community are still seen. But, as one nurse put it: “It’s evolving, it’s all new to us, no one has been in this crisis before.”

Everybody I’ve spoken to gets the pressure the services are under. This isn't a blame game. But the abrupt disruption is hugely worrying and potentially v/ damaging. I’ve heard numerous stories about people falling through the cracks. Some are reported in the latest piece.

Here’s an example that I was sent over the weekend, by @BuffyIles, who I wrote about in a piece about parents of kids with special needs in March. She feels abandoned by her mental health team at @nottshealthcare, but can't get to see her GP either: https://twitter.com/BuffyIles/status/1246758783377866754?s=20

For most people, face-to-face contact has stopped; you might now get phone or video contact instead. It’s hard to describe how big a change this is for some people. Recovery requires developing intimate relationships with the people who support you, over months or even years.

Those contacts just aren't the same when they're done remotely. Here's how one person (who is actually coping better than most I've spoken to) described how he's finding it:

For a lot of people, being cut off from in-person contact with their therapist/doctor/care worker is only going to increase their sense of isolation. Also, pressure on NHS services means they won't now necessarily get to speak to the people they're used to, or as often.

Some people, I'm hearing, are effectively dropping out of the system during this sudden transition. Others who were just about to start or in the early stages of treatment have effectively been cut off, at a really important time for them and no idea when support will come back.

Mental health charities like @MindCharity, @Rethink_ and @samaritans are trying to fill the gaps and doing extraordinary work, but they’re also under massive pressure: Staff and volunteer shortages; disruption to fundraising on a scale they’ve never experienced before.

We’re still in the foothills of #coronavirus and the focus is, understandably, on how frontline health services are coping. But this matters too. When the pandemic is over, we may find that the psychological trauma has also left behind a shocking toll that isn't as visible.

Thanks for reading. Please RT. I'll keep reporting on #mentalhealth and #coronavirus, so please get in touch if you work in the field or are affected by it or have a tip. My DMs are open, or you can email me at [email protected]. https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/people-mental-health-conditions-coronavirus-treatment