The Rise of Mental Illness in Healthcare Workers due to Covid 19 Pandemic

Picture yourself in the middle of a chaotic and overcrowded hospital, sick and dying patients are everywhere, and you are treating these patients, just waiting to catch the virus and end up in the same exact situation. I am sure most would agree that a scene so intense and gruesome is sure to alter one’s mind. The severity of mental illness in healthcare workers has been rapidly increasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are having trouble finding help for themselves. In recent years, the severity has lessened due to therapists and medication. However, many factors that have surfaced recently seem to be pushing back the progress that was made in the field of mental health. No matter how many therapists and new drugs emerge, some events that have occurred are raising the lethality and effects of certain illnesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has even brought the medical professionals to the point of seeking help for their underlying mental health issues that are preventing them from performing their duties to the fullest. For that very reason, many health care workers are refraining from seeking this help, fearing they may taint their own reputation in their field of work. The very same people that take care of us are now needing help as well, but this assistance is hard to find and the entire issue is seemingly being overlooked by the world.

Have you ever thought about if the person who is treating your illness is even mentally stable themself? Well, if you weren’t, you are now. Often, when medical professionals reach out for help, they are ridiculed because people don’t understand why they are struggling. “She’s cute, she’s smart, her parents have all this money, people like her-- what’s she got to be depressed about?”  (Schiller and Bennet, 2011, pg. 30). The tragedy and atrocity that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the world is disturbing, to say the least. A single virus has somehow managed to throw off an entire planet to an extreme extent. While many families are facing death and sickness, medical workers are forced to stand by and watch it all. These workers’ minds are being greatly damaged by the things they see, and most of them feel as if they do not have the time to manage their own well-being. A study was conducted on Chinese hospital staff to discover the change that occurs in their mental state after working in a hospital where the COVID-19 virus was very prominent. The results showed half of these workers who treated COVID-19 patients now struggle with depression, while 44.6% developed anxiety and a third were diagnosed with insomnia (Noguchi, 2020).  Ramona Moll is an ER nurse in Sacramento, California, and she has seen a lot of the virus in her facility. A point came where Moll was admitted as a patient in the very same building she worked in, where she was put in the very same position she saw so many other patients in. "It's a very lonely feeling that you're going to die and you can't even say goodbye to your family. I'm going to leave my daughter? I'm going to leave my husband? Who's going to take care of my daughter better than me?"(Moll, 2020). Thankfully, Ramona Moll is no longer hospitalized, and she hopes to return to full-time work soon, and help out during this time of struggle. 

Certain areas of the world have been impacted by the pandemic much worse than others. The bombshell that has been dropped by COVID-19 has created a harsh ripple effect that can be felt almost anywhere. Mental health issues have been being treated for a very long time, and nowadays, modern technology and medicine has greatly progressed our knowledge of these illnesses. However, when more factors are added into the mix, the symptoms and effects of one’s illness can immensely increase. “For people with preexisting mental health conditions, their routines and ability to access support is super important. Whenever additional barriers are placed on them, it could be challenging and can contribute to an increase in symptoms.” (White, 2020).The ability to keep up with the amount of stuff happening in the world is nearly impossible. Health care systems all over the world are deteriorating due to facilities being overrun and staff becoming patients to the virus as well. “The big problem here is that all crisis services are connected to each other. If any part of that system is disrupted you can’t divert a patient properly.” (Atkinson, 2020). It is very hard to deal with mental and physical health all at once because the issues will just keep feeding into each other, and workers are now becoming scared to even come into work because they do not feel they have proper protection. “In Detroit and other hard-hit states, if you didn’t have enough protective equipment you can’t expect people to take a risk. People going to work can’t be thinking ‘I’m going to die,’”(Hepburn, 2020). However, the brave medical professionals of today are working as hard as they can to fight through the virus and bring life back to normal as best they can, even though our systems are not meant to handle this kind of worldwide catastrophe. 

A very major reason as to why medical professionals have trouble seeking help for mental illness is the fact that they are scared. Many surgeons, psychiatrists, and physicians nowadays are admitting to the world that they require certain medication or the use of a therapist due to their mental condition. In some cases, this might scare away an individual from going to this professional, as they do not see the same trust in that person as before. What people need to realize is that almost everyone suffers from a mental illness, and anyone who does should get the help they need without judgement. This issue was not as prominent in the past, but the pandemic has caused a lot of people to contract depression, anxiety, insomnia, and other illnesses from their traumatizing experiences in medical facilities. Many individuals consider not obtaining their license because of their mental health. A study conducted last year showed that medical professionals in states that ask about mental illness history are 21-22% more likely to seek help for their mental health (Gold, 2020). The stigma around health care workers needs to be settled and people need to realize that everyone needs help in this time of distress. 

A rising issue in health care systems is the shortage of workers, technology, and space in their facilities. A rather large town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is struggling with this very issue in one of their hospitals. UPHS-Marquette is rapidly losing staff, as there are other jobs nearby with much better pay. “And there are other places willing to give us a better assignment, better pay, better benefits, and incentives to join their work group, rather than stay here.”(DePetro, 2021). Basically, workers are being underpaid, hospitals are crashing down, and the field of medical workers is decreasing due to these reasons. Many people change their mind about working as a health care professional nowadays because they hear about all the horrible stuff that physicians and other staff are seeing and going through. Hospitals are pretty much collapsing because they cannot afford to support their staff enough, so many people are quitting their jobs to seek better employment. “We are hemorrhaging staff. We need to do something.” (DePetro, 2021). All in all, the conditions in hospitals are not getting any better, as people are still contracting COVID-19, and supplies and staff are still running dangerously low. 

The events that have been unfolding throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have affected everyone, no matter who you are asking. This is especially true for the workers that risk their lives in hospitals and other health care systems every day. These workers are seeing so much death, pain, and sadness that their own brains cannot handle it, and it begins to take a large toll. These people often find themselves in positions where they require themselves to see a therapist or get prescription antidepressant drugs. Many systems see the use of these things as a red flag, but they should see it as their staff just trying to keep their heads above water and make it through these tough times. The amount of psychological damage that people are experiencing is a very serious issue that needs to be prioritized, so the people of the medical field can get our help and finally care for their own health. Many professionals would not be able to care for their patients without taking care of themselves in some way. The COVID-19 virus and its effect have been overwhelming, and all people should get to be treated the same in hospitals, especially the people that treat patients every day.