Coronavirus Pandemic: It’s Harmful Effects On Mental Health and Addiction Treatment.

Coronavirus Pandemic

The start of 2020 has been nothing short of chaotic. While many of us were fixating on our personal New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of 2020, something disastrous was lurking in the shadows of our new year. Before we could establish our resolutions, the metaphorical rug was pulled out from underneath us. Causing disruption, the coronavirus made its way into the forefront of our lives. As a result, we were no longer focusing on our weight loss goals, health regimes, or breaking of awful habits. The coronavirus pandemic demanded worldwide attention. For that reason, it forced everyone to shelf their personal plans for growth and transformation to heed the warnings being thrown about on mainstream media outlets.

Here we are now in mid-May, and the never-ending uphill climb back towards the normalcy of life continues on. Many people shrugged off the initial reports of the coronavirus, assuming it to be just another news story. Once the number of cases poured in, it was clear to see this wasn’t just another news story. Overnight many Americans tuned in to listen to the influx of speeches from the President of the United States, along with state and government officials like the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and WHO (World Health Organization). It was during these earlier briefings when we realized the drastic changes that would follow.

Adapting To Our New Normal

Stay at home orders, lockdowns, and quarantines, with non-essential business closures and facial masks soon became our new normal. As we’re learning how to adapt to this alternative way of life, many reports are surfacing on the damaging effects that are becoming clear as the continuance of this pandemic ensues. Specifically, job losses, economic hardships, and uncertainty are taking their toll on the masses. Many of us cannot get the security and comfort provided by our usual daily routines. We have replaced sizeable portions of our schedules with the humdrum, staying at home for extended periods of time. The familiar faces of family and friends lose their visual details in our memories as we continue social distancing. 

If our history shows us anything, it illustrates humanity’s ability to adapt to change. Whether it be cultural, environmental, or biological, humans have acclimated and adapted to change. However, I can’t help but wonder, does our ability to adapt exempt us from the damaging effects of sudden and radical changes to our ways of life? Similar questions are being answered in relation to the current climate of COVID-19. 

Coronavirus and mental health

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting the mental health of many people all across the globe. The increasing number of reported cases of anxiety and depression has garnered the attention of scientific and medical researches. There is a clear link between social isolation and the negative effects it has on a person’s mental and cardiovascular health. (Leigh-Hunt, et al., “An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness”, 2017). The National Alliance of Mental Illness reported that 17.7 million Americans suffer from depression while 6.8 million suffer from a generalized anxiety disorder. Undoubtedly these numbers are likely to increase as Americans continue to acclimate to the current situation.

Effects on depression

As someone who has struggled with bouts of depression and anxiety throughout my life, it is easy for me to see how quarantine negatively affects individuals with mental illness. Structure, predictability, and routine are like kryptonite to depression and anxiety. It is not surprising that the absence of it would cause negative effects. Depression, and the spirit thereof, are constantly prompting us to stay in bed, isolated and distant from family and friends. Telling us all hope is lost, and there is no way out. These are lies from the pit of hell and as believers, we need to rebuke them and declare the truth. 

It is important to understand how being quarantined can intensify episodes of depression. Nevertheless, there are things we can do to avoid giving openings to the enemy during this time. When the enemy says, stay isolated because what’s the point you’re stuck in quarantine; pick up your phone and call or Facetime someone. When the enemy says, stay in bed all day because what is the point you’re not doing anything today; pick yourself up, get yourself together and treat the day as if you weren’t in quarantine. Do your get-ready routine, straighten up the house, catch up on the things you’ve been putting off. Do it because it is good for your mental state, not because you need plans to do so. Being productive can be great for keeping depression at bay. The enemy works overtime when we are idle. Just because we cannot leave the house that doesn’t mean we have to be confined to the bed. If you really want to war against the spirit of depression, put on praise and worship or the audio bible on while you are being productive.

Effects on anxiety

Anxiety and the spirit of fear that it works in it are ready and willing to take advantage of people’s current worries and fears. The Bible is full of verses that remind us to put our hope and trust in Jesus no matter how a situation appears to be. I can testify to the number of times a situation I was in seemed to have no solution. By the looks of it, I should have felt hopeless. Rather, I rebuked the whispers of the enemy that told me there is no way out of this and declared my faith in Christ instead. God was faithful each time, stepping in and making a way where there was absolutely no way. God’s divine intervention defies all understanding, which is why we cannot rely on what we see or hear on the news. We need to lean on our faith in our Creator, who is all-powerful and all-knowing. We have to be okay with telling ourselves to turn off the news. What good will come out of the constant stream of fear and anxiety? 

As Christians, it is important that we bring our thoughts and speaking under the subjection of Jesus. When we converse with unbelievers especially regarding this pandemic, we should allow our faith and trust in the Lord to be noticeable in our responses. There should be an observable peace in us that is unexplainable to those who are dealing with this pandemic apart from God. So next time you’re in a conversation with someone who is verbalizing their fears and worries, declare and decree your trust in the Lord. This by no means is an excuse to be irresponsible and live as if this pandemic doesn’t exist. It does, however, mean being mindful of the level of peace you are living in and where you’re allowing your influence to come from. Is your mind being influenced by the fear-mongering of mainstream media, or is it being influenced by the truth of God’s word? 

Coronavirus and addiction and recovery

According to The National Alliance of Mental Illness, 14.5 million Americans have a substance abuse problem. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that in 2018, 9.2 million American adults who struggle with substance abuse likewise struggle with mental illness. The stress and uncertainty that surrounds our current pandemic are likely to cause an uptick in these already substantial numbers. Furthermore, reports are surfacing on how the coronavirus pandemic has caused mishandling of substance abuse treatment programs. Federal, state, and government officials have dropped the ball when it comes to providing continued ample care for individuals in treatment. People in recovery are already at risk of relapse, but if you add to that the effects of job loss, financial hardships, isolation, and fear, it creates a perfect storm for relapsing. Therefore, it is crucial to continue substance abuse treatment amid the pandemic.

Mishandling of substance abuse treatment 

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted much of the world, including adequate care and treatment for people struggling with substance abuse. As a result, treatment programs and facilities cannot tend to their patients as they usually would. Usual protocols are being replaced with a less than comparable compromise between continued treatment and the absence of it altogether.

According to Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), in an interview with CBS News, Patients receiving Methadone treatment for opioid addiction prior to the coronavirus had to report 6 days a week to receive their medication during the first 90 days of treatment. That has temporarily stopped during the pandemic and has resulted in instances of Methadone overdose by patients who were not yet fit to take the medication home to administer Methadone themselves. According to Allegra Schorr, president of the Coalition of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the same interview, The new protocols come with very little direction from federal and state governments, leaving treatment providers to decide which patients are stable enough to take their medication home with them. (SGANGA, 2020).

Indeed this is a delicate time for people in recovery from addiction. The stress and fear that has become a part of our daily lives can subsequently trigger impulses to self medicate. As a former addict myself, I can say that overwhelming stress and worry can create negative consequences on your recovery if not properly dealt with. The voice of addiction is lying in wait, waiting for any opportunity to persuade you to fall back into addictive habits. The negative effects of isolation and boredom may provoke a person in recovery to seek mental and emotional stimulation through intoxication. It is important that people in recovery continue to have access to the treatments they have become accustomed to, any abrupt change in the process may jeopardize their recovery.

Essential businesses?

Essential businesses are remaining open and the public can shop in big-box stores like Walmart when wearing a face mask and abiding by the social distancing rules. If places like Walmart and Target can remain open as usual, how is it that addiction treatment and recovery programs are not? Wearing a mask inside of Walmart is safe enough, yet wearing a mask to a Methadone clinic to receive a dose of medication is not? It appears as though officials have gotten lazy when it comes to ensuring that all people including addicts in recovery can continue their much-needed treatment. Substance abuse treatment medications are a vital part of many of these programs. Even while dealing with this pandemic, access to these treatments needs to be accessible. These medications are “essential” to those receiving them, just as essential as bread, milk, and eggs.

Cited Sources

1. Leigh-Hunt, N., Bagguley, D., Bash, K., Turner, V., Turnbull, S., Valtorta, N., & Caan, W. (2017). An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health, 152, 157-171. Accessed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033350617302731?via%3Dihub

2. Substance Use Disorders. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2020, from https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Common-with-Mental-Illness/Substance-Use-Disorders

3. SGANGA, N. I. C. O. L. E. (2020, April 3). How the coronavirus is hurting drug and alcohol recovery. CBS News . Retrieved from www.cbsnews.com