Undoubtedly this coronavirus pandemic had a tremendous toll on the healthcare workforce. Many healthcare workers had to work more than 40 hours a week during this period. A recent study found that these professionals who were under age 60 and worked more than 40 hours per week are more likely to experience mental health symptoms.
The world is at a critical point to address a shadow pandemic that can unfold a traumatized workforce. Because all the physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers around the world were working during the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on mental and physical health.
The foundation professor of psychology at the University of Nevada Steven C. Hayes addressed the mental health pandemic and said, “I think if we mishandle this moment, we will face years of trouble going forward in dealing with many sectors of our society who have been asked to do more and more but without necessarily being given the psychological tools to do it in a healthy way.”
The majority of healthcare professionals have experienced mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, mood changes, and social withdrawal over the pandemic. The director of the Health Disparities Institute at the University of Connecticut Dr. Wizdom Powell said, “We’re also seeing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms and also depression because those emotions kind of interlace one another. As a psychologist, I see a newer form of depression presented in the clinic: depression mixed with some anxiety.”