What might be the consequences of the epidemic on mental health?

• The French population entered this Tuesday at noon in a completely new confinement in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
• A situation that generates a lot of anxiety and particularly affects people who are already psychologically vulnerable.
• If travel for "health reasons" is still authorized on presentation of a certificate, psychiatrists and psychologists are also subject to confinement and now prefer remote consultations.

Laura * received the email a few minutes before Emmanuel Macron's speech, Monday March 16. "The therapist I have been consulting for almost two years has informed me that he is setting up telephone consultations for the next few weeks", explains the young woman, visibly relieved. For her, as for thousands of French people engaged in psychological or psychiatric follow-up with a liberal practitioner, the announcement of total confinement to stem the epidemic of coronavirus generated some concerns.

"I was prone to anxiety attacks and panic attacks after burnout and this anxiety reappeared last weekend with the acceleration of the epidemic and the measures taken by the government," says Laura. Aware of the difficulties in continuing the face-to-face sessions in the office of her psychologist, the possibility of an interruption of her therapy increased her stress. But attached to maintaining the bond woven with their patients, the liberal caregivers try to adapt to this situation and anticipate needs which could increase as confinement occurs.

"The level of anxiety will increase"

This Tuesday at noon, France officially entered a period of strict containment of its population for a period of fifteen days minimum. A period during which the French will be able to go out only to do their shopping, go to the pharmacy, go to work when necessary or ventilate themselves for some exercise. An exceptional situation set up to slow down and prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible.

“The level of anxiety in the general population is likely to increase. And vulnerable populations, who already suffer from psychological disorders or who are more vulnerable psychologically, will be more affected, ”said Fabienne El-Khoury, doctor of public health and responsible for epidemiology within the University Hospital Group (GHU) Paris psychiatry & neurosciences.

At this time of pandemic, don't forget to take care of your mental health 🌸 # COVID19france #confinementTotal pic.twitter.com/hyWiqGNc45

In China, the first country to be shaken by the epidemic and targeted by drastic containment measures, a study was carried out on the "degree of psychological distress of the Chinese population following the Covid-19 epidemic". The results were published in the medical journal The Lancet , underlined this Monday Catherine Tourette-Turgis, director of the master in therapeutic education at Sorbonne-Universities and researcher at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (Cnam). In her article (online at The Conversation) , the researcher reports:

"The study authors show that for 35% of respondents (…) the result obtained reveals moderate psychological stress, and for 5.14%, severe stress"

Figures that point, according to Fabienne El-Khoury, the need to disseminate information and recommendations on this subject: "We must really think of specific prevention messages on mental health," she said.

Keep your routine

Psychiatrist Fanny Jacq wants to be reassuring: “Because the patients will feel more anxiety or anxiety, they will want more regular and more intense follow-up. Remember that consultations with a psychologist or psychiatrist are part of the medical exceptions justifying a trip. ” Co-founder of a teleconsultation platform in psychiatry, she has noted in recent days a “very strong upsurge in requests” from her brothers and sisters. And specifies: “Most of the psychiatrists will practice teleworking to respect the confinement measures. "

And this need for follow-up risks becoming even more important for populations who are already vulnerable, says the psychiatrist: "For patients who are claustrophobic, hypochondriac or suffering from nosophobia (fear of contracting a disease), anxiety can explode during confinement. Psychotic people will also be more affected. Ditto for those who have developed an addiction to sport: they may experience significant frustrations, anger. "

To try to provide an answer and support to those who would suffer from the effects of confinement, Fanny Jacq has developed a support module dedicated to confinement and accessible free of charge on the psychological support application "My Sherpa".

Our file on the coronavirus

To preserve her mental health, the psychiatrist insists: “You have to try to live as if you were not confined. Keep a day-night rhythm, do not go to bed too late, pay attention to your diet. For all those who are teleworking, respect your usual schedules and take the time to take a real break for lunch. (…) Maintaining routines is very important, you have to try to have the feeling that nothing is moving or as little as possible, otherwise it can develop anxiety ”.

Laura, herself, has already made an appointment with her therapist for the weekend: "Even if a session by phone will necessarily be different from the conventional sessions, I feel that after this first week of confinement spent alone at my home, it will be necessary and beneficial. "

* The first name has been changed

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• Coronavirus
• Covid 19
• Health
• Containment
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Stress