COVID-19 Pandemic Is Taking A Physical And Emotional Toll On Frontline Healthcare Workers

Over the past few months, we have become used to seeing images of exhausted frontline healthcare workers with swollen faces, hands, and bodies, due to spending hours inside PPE kits.

The overworked healthcare workers continue to push themselves to the frontlines of the battle against the pandemic.

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The sheer physical toll is not the only struggle they have to put up with, day in and day out.

Several studies have shown that the pandemic is taking a psychological toll on healthcare workers.

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The frontline healthcare workers are at risk of physical and mental consequences directly as the result of providing care to patients with COVID-19 and seeing the number of deaths around them.

High risk work setting

"The healthcare workers are currently facing an unprecedented situation of COVID-19 pandemic where they are working in a high-risk setting for long hours with limited resources, frequently changing duties, working in unfamiliar settings with new teammates resulting in huge mental stress.

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Mental health issues

A high risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection results in fear, apprehension and stress, which gets compounded by the fear of affecting their family members and loved ones by bringing the infection home. They are unable to impersonalize themselves while taking care of their infected colleagues and often feel helpless for not being able to avert the mortality of their colleagues resulting in d谷j角 vu and flashback experiences," Dr. Sameer Kalani, Sr. Consultant Psychiatrist, Sukoon Hospital said.

The biggest mental health issues health care professionals are experiencing due to COVID-19 are PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia, substance use and suicide.

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Dr. Kalani who admitted that there is very limited data available on if there an increase in the number of health care professionals seeking expert help for their needs due to COVID-19, however, said studies have found that the prevalence of this perceived stigma among the HCWs ranges between 20-50%.

Taking a toll on their well-being

As a practicing mental health professional, he has come across cases including suicidal thoughts for which healthcare professionals have sought help from him.

"In cases of civil depression and acute stress reaction, there have been HCWs brought to the emergency by caregivers for suicidal thoughts or suicide," he said.

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According to him, these are some suggestions for health care professionals to remain mentally healthy during this crisis.

*Self-care practices allowing oneself to experience emotions, understanding the fact that these emotions are a result of an appropriate response of the body to an unprecedented situation.

*Allowing oneself to focus on the present and engage in mindfulness 每 here and now.

*Adding a dose of humour and laughter to one's life.

*Alleviating ones anxiety by taking precautionary measures, reaching out for professional help, and putting in effort to break the barrier of stigma.

*Engaging in activities that we were unable to make times for previously, reaching out to the support system (family, friends) on a regular basis using virtual platforms to connect with others in a more personal manner, focusing on whatever is within our control 每 all these points can help us combat loneliness.

*Talking to our family and children to provide appropriate information, help them regain their sense of control, and being socially responsible by abiding with rules and guidelines put in place by the authorities, and encouraging others to follow the same.

*Maintaining positivity and optimism, remaining calm, harnessing your faith, seek out small acts of positivity around yourself and cultivate a sense of gratitude.