La Trobe University: Ideas and Social Program

COVID-19 and the Mental Health of Australians

5 pm (EST), 21st October 2020

A recording of the presentation can be accessed here

Professor Mike Kyrios, along with Pat McGorry and Jennifer McIntosh will be discussing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Australians.

What do we already know about the impact? What do we not yet understand? In what ways is the pandemic likely to have affected those with serious pre-existing mental health conditions? How far is it likely to have influenced general population levels of anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, loneliness and drug or alcohol dependency? In what ways is it likely that the extended lockdown — of the kind Melbournians have experienced — have added to the mental stresses of the pandemic and indeed to the risks of harming oneself, or others?  Do we have any idea about the impact of the pandemic on the most exposed and vulnerable members of society — the indigenous peoples or asylum seekers with still unresolved status, or the casual workforce?  What of the well-being of our own mental health practitioners, many of whom, even in the best of times, report high rates of depression and anxiety themselves? Looking ahead to COVID normal, what is the mental health advice on recovering from the effects of isolation and restoring well-being? What are the go-to resources, and what additional support from governments and from society are needed?