As a GP, I’m worried about what coronavirus will do to the UK’s mental health
It’s been less than a week and I’m already fed up, I think for a lot of people less fortunate than me in terms of their mental health, cabin fever will soon start to kick in. It tells us:
‘I always knew this was the way I was going to die – in my home, all alone.’ I’d just broken the bad news to my 54-year old patient Mary that she has to self-isolate after contracting a new cough and fever, and I’m concerned for her. Despite her background of anxiety and depression, she’s been stable for a number of years. She’s relapsing – and she’s not the only one.
Most patients I’m seeing now are anxious about their health, their livelihood, and their inability to pick up fundamentals like over-the-counter medicine because of stockpiling. As frontline GPs, we’ve been facing an uphill battle with mental health for some time, but Covid-19 has exacerbated this significantly. An increased number of patients present daily with symptoms that indicate that they are stressed, anxious and becoming increasingly depressed.