RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Seven months after the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, mental health has become a major factor in people’s daily lives and has even drawn the attention of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), which has already alerted to the increase of psychiatric disorders this year.
With the need to remain in social isolation, feelings such as loneliness and anxiety have become widespread. Furthermore, the health threat that a potential coronavirus infection can cause is also one of the reasons for people to become more vulnerable.
Before the pandemic, the World Health Organization had already singled out Brazil as the country with the highest number of anxious people in the world: 18.6 million Brazilians (9.3 percent of the population) live with this disorder.
A Workana survey shows that 43.7 percent of workers felt some symptoms of mental impairment during the pandemic. Among those surveyed, 24 percent experienced difficulty in concentrating; 13.2 percent felt anxiety; 5.8 percent felt lonely and 0.8 percent experienced depression or claustrophobia.
These rates are worse when the sample is ordered by gender: 28 percent of female respondents were affected by anxiety, while among men the rate stood at 8.33 percent. In terms of difficulty in concentration, 24 percent of women experienced difficulty while among men the rate stood at 17.71 percent.
To understand some of the many changes that the pandemic has introduced into the daily lives of Brazilians in recent months, Mastercard conducted a survey in 13 countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru.
The survey analyzed data on the daily lives of respondents and showed how people have new priorities in Brazil, namely to start taking care of their mental health.
Despite being recognized for its advantages, the home office may be among the causes of anxiety disorders and overwork. A survey by a data company found that comments from people on social media were less favorable to working remotely as the months went by this year.
Another alarming data found last month by Falconi consulting firm was the increase in psychiatric illness such as depression or emotional disorders such as burnout. Higher rates were recorded by 37 percent of companies.
Source: Exame