Upper Austria. The corona crisis, lockdowns and social isolation have left their mark on people. Tips asked Sonja Hörmanseder, Business Unit Manager of Krisenhilfe Upper Austria, what psychological effects the crisis has on people.
Tips: What percentage of the inquiries to Krisenhilfe Upper Austria relate to the Corona crisis?
Hearing habits: I would estimate that up to 80 percent of the inquiries (by phone, in person, online) are about the Corona crisis. Since this crisis now permeates almost all areas of life, a lot of conversations revolve around it, either directly or indirectly.
Tips: Is the Corona crisis a unique situation for crisis aid?
Hearing habits: Yes, this crisis is unique for Krisenhilfe Upper Austria because we are confronted with an unprecedented, long-lasting and very challenging situation like the pandemic. Particularly and unique because of the long duration (Corona has been our concern for almost a year now), because of the frequently changing situation in the sense of “ups and downs” around infection numbers, lockdown and openings, because of the lack of perspective and because we hardly have any can fall back on experience.
Tips: Which age or occupational groups are most affected by psychological effects?
Hearing habits: At the moment, teenagers and young adults are very visible to us. In addition, parents of school children who have reached their personal performance limits. In the work context, mainly people report who get into financial, existence-threatening hardship due to short-time work or job loss, as well as self-employed people who are threatened in their existence in the course of the requirements and restrictions and are extremely desperate. In addition, we also notice special stresses on employees from the health and care professions and emergency services. Lonely people also belong to the group of people who are psychologically stressed. This runs through all age groups and social classes.
Tips: Are children also affected?
Hearing habits: Of course, but they rarely call us themselves. This is then done by the parents or other relatives. It is often about school, but also about the lack of opportunities to meet friends, the lack of contact with grandparents (especially if they live in a retirement and nursing home), as well as the lack of opportunities for sporting compensation. Of course, children especially lack physical contact and distance-less togetherness. Topics are also lack of motivation, excessive demands, loneliness and fears.
Tips: What mental illnesses do callers affected by the Corona crisis complain about most often?
Hearing habits: Fears (e.g. fear of the future, existential fears, panic attacks; fear of infection and of sick relatives, especially from risk groups) are very common. These have now also developed people who would have described themselves as mentally stable and robust before Corona. Overwork and increasing exhaustion occur as well as depression and physical side effects. In general, most illnesses or psychological stresses get worse because a large part of the other coping strategies is eliminated. Symptoms of people with mental illness have multiplied – the situation is difficult and stressful for “healthy” people – for people who already have a mental illness or were mentally stressed, it is now twice as difficult.
Tips: Have thoughts of suicide increased among people as a result of the corona crisis?
Hearing habits: In my perception, yes. Fears, lack of prospects, depression and loneliness have, as mentioned above, risen sharply in the last few months. This is shown by numerous studies, but also by overcrowded psychiatric departments and the large number of therapists. The batteries are empty and cannot be charged in the usual way. On the one hand, there is a lack of resources in the form of other people who are not available in the usual way, and on the other hand, there are also frequently used support offers or opportunities for compensation and distraction.
Tips: Do psychological effects arise more from the corona measures (e.g. isolation in lockdown) or more from economic difficulties such as job loss?
Hearing habits: I would say the combination of both. As already mentioned, the Corona crisis, including measures, is now penetrating all areas of life. I think it’s important to always incorporate a holistic view. One cannot say that one is more problematic or more stressful than the other. I would describe it like this: Several previously stable pillars in life start to wobble at the same time, and this makes people unstable.
Tips: Are there also callers whose mental state has improved during the Corona crisis?
Hearing habits: A distinction has to be made between the first phase of the pandemic and now. In the first lockdown, there were certainly people with previous psychological stresses who “dipped through” the first phase better than the majority of the population. Here I mean people who tend to live withdrawn from home, are anxious or like to be at home a lot – who in some cases even found it relieving that little social contact and withdrawal were now the norm. But as the crisis persists, this group of people is also challenged, stressed and tired. Basically there are people who are coping better with the Corona crisis than others and who have acquired one or the other competence. That depends on the respective life situation and the mental and physical health.
Tips: Do you get inquiries from people who express their fears about further lockdowns or the upcoming vaccinations?
Hearing habits: Yes, of course that is also an issue. In addition to the further lockdown, there are questions such as “What do I do then?” “How can I still endure this?” “Will the schools be closed again?”, “I can’t get through this anymore”. The focus is on the lack of perspective and the feeling that it will go on forever, we “muddle” from lockdown to lockdown and there is no end. There have been a few calls about vaccination, but rarely.
Tips: How does Crisis Aid deal with conspiracy myths that are spread over the Internet?
Hearing habits: Conspiracy theories and anti-corona demos make many people fearful or unsettling to the greatest extent. We encourage callers or people who contact us via online crisis counseling not to believe these theories or to get information from reputable sources and get an idea of this.
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