Lockdowns brought in during the early months of the covid-19 pandemic increased the number of calls to mental health helplines in 19 nations by almost a third, before returning to pre-lockdown levels.

A minor rise in the number of calls made by those who were feeling isolated and afraid of contracting the coronavirus occurred during the pandemic surge, but their concerns were mostly unchanged from those stated prior to it.

The epidemic has been linked to an increase in anxiety and depression, according to a number of studies. A researcher at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland wondered whether there was another approach to measure changes in people’s mental well-being other than using mental health surveys and suicide data. We asked ourselves, ‘What can we do to measure the mental health of the population?'” says Brülhart.

The majority of mental health hotlines preserve call logs, which often include brief notes on the reasons people call. Over a two-year period from early 2019 to early 2021, Brülhart and his colleagues analyzed 8 million anonymous calls to helplines in 19 nations (the United States was not included), including China, Israel, and numerous European countries.

There was a 35 percent increase in the number of calls six weeks after each country’s coronavirus restrictions began, although some helplines were unable to answer all calls and may have missed some of the earlier spikes.

The proportion of people contacting to discuss suicide thoughts was the same in 2019 before the epidemic as the overall volume of calls. Other studies have revealed that suicide rates have not increased since the beginning of the pandemic in most nations.

Mental health of the early pandemic has been shown to be impacted, but this has not translated into an increase in suicide rates, says Louis Appleby of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. “Social cohesion is one possibility—family and neighbors lending support, a broad sense of getting through a crisis together.” “

Study findings show that calls to helplines climbed significantly in nations where there was less financial support for persons unable to work due to the epidemic and tougher lockdowns or limitations. There has been a surge in suicidal calls as the lockout measures have become more severe, according to Brülhart.