COVID-19: a national mental health crisis, or a typical response to stress? Macquarie research shines a light

Despite the obvious and ongoing stress of the last 18 months, experts from Macquarie University believe the outlook on Australia’s mental health is better than we might think.

In his role as Executive Director of MindSpot, Macquarie University Professor of Psychology Nick Titov has been monitoring the ups and downs of Australian’s mental health during the COVID-19 crisis.

He says it’s important to recognise the difference between serious ongoing illnesses, like clinical depression, and a normal reaction to a period of stress.

“The good news is that while we are seeing more people use our services, there hasn’t been a significant rise in symptoms or cases of mental illness among MindSpot clients.”

“One of the strongest lessons that we can take from the COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that we can’t control every aspect of our lives, and that we all need to work on staying physically and psychologically healthy,” says Titov.

Titov says that over the course of the pandemic, many reports about increased rates of anxiety and depression have appeared in academic psychology publications and in the media - but that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

His team analysed more than 10,000 assessments and found that relying on the scores usually used, known as “brief measures”, would indicate that 72% of respondees would meet the criteria for depression. However, further screening revealed that the likely true incidence of a depression diagnosis was under 40 per cent of cases.

“A lot of people also reported fatigue and sadness and generally feeling fed up, they reported frustration and boredom and a lack of joy or pleasure – we know those are circumstances which trigger symptoms of low mood, and anxiety and worry and stress and fatigue, but that's not the same as mental illness or clinical depression or anxiety.”

According to Professor Titov, there are some basic things you can do everyday to help boost your mental health during life’s challenges:

·       Clear your head

·       Respect yourself

·       Take some time to recharge

·       Set simple goals

·       Treat yourself

·       Establish routines

MindSpot is a free national online mental health clinic established at Macquarie University in 2012 and funded by the Australian government. More than 30,000 people have used their services between March 2020 and August 2021.