The Macau Post Daily spoke with Caritas Macau Secretary-General Paul Pun Chi Meng in a phone interview on Wednesday about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and suggestions on how the situation can be managed.
Caritas Macau offers suicide prevention services, which can be contacted on 2852 5222 (Chinese) or 2852 5777 (English).
COVID-19 impacts on mental health
Feeling depressed or anxious is probably common during the pandemic, Pun pointed out. He noted that people are currently coping with difficulties such as not knowing when the COVID-19 pandemic will end, its toll on the economy and the family issues brought by unemployment or unpaid leave. These can affect emotional factors, he said, adding that “depression and anxiety eventually emerge for those people who had never had [these] problems, and [have] now become vulnerable.”
Although most people have not been seriously affected, the effects are still felt by Macau’s population as the pandemic has been around for nearly three years, Pun underlined. Even those who were initially able to cope with problems may now be losing energy, resources, and protective mechanisms to deal with them. “In general, this type of emotional upset or problem causes people’s productivity to deteriorate” and affect their “positive thinking”.
Pun said that the government’s financial support has reduced certain risks, but some people may continue to face problems once their financial issues have been resolved, such as the suddenness of someone in their building being infected with COVID-19 and the stress that comes with coping with changes and some buildings’ lockdowns.
“For some people, this pandemic will strengthen their coping mechanism”, but there are only a few of those types of people, Pun said, with those seriously affected possibly having their thinking and development hindered, as well as how they deal with other people.
Help available through hotline
Pun underlined that help is available through the hotline, emphasising that the hotline attendants are there to listen to people, attempting to divert suicidal thoughts and persuading callers “to see that they are not useless” and are cared about.
Since January 1, Pun said, Caritas has received 6,356 calls, but he stressed that not all of them have been pandemic-related. Moreover, among the 614 calls received since June 18, 23 calls were related to suicidal matters. Pun also noted that calls have also been received from people talking about their concerns on matters such as the pandemic and its measures, or are just looking for someone to talk to. Both the caller and attendant maintain anonymity, making communication easier, Pun pointed out.
Remarking on the increased number of suicides, Pun said that he thought the reasons could be due to the uncertainty around COVID-19 and when it will all end, and limited resources such as money. Moreover, people may not be nurturing their emotional capacity, he said, noting: “When we have problems, we think of more problems. So, we don’t treat ourselves nicely”, giving an example of the negative thoughts that come up when one faces situations such as unemployment.
The importance of positivity
“When we do things, we [have to] do them positively”, Pun emphasised as he offered recommendations from Caritas Macau on how mental health can be managed.
As most people may not think positively, Pun recommended guiding people to look for positive stories in civil society during COVID-19 and sharing them in various ways.
While at home during the government’s restrictions on people’s movements, Pun said that people should find ways to make the best of their time and energy such as through reading books, learning new things, self-planning, getting to know themselves, calling people, such as family and friends, and building or re-building relationships. Prayer or meditation are also recommended.
Meanwhile, regarding suggestions for the government, Pun commented that using a positive way to deliver the news and announcements with the right amount of optimism were also important to consider. “The tone will also influence people’s cooperation”, he noted, as it can help with viewing a problem from a different perspective.
