By James Simons-
Therapy can help address depression and anxiety for people who have had or suspect they may have had long Covid. Research showing that people suffering from long covid are almost twice as likely to have experienced depression as those who do not think they have ever contracted coronavirus has highlighted the need for special therapy to help victims overcome the long term after effects of long covid.
Therapy is important to help alleviate some of the physical symptoms of long COVID, which can have mental health effects, mental health analyst, Deon Vernhoven said. If people who are suffering from long covid are aware of the potential of the effects of depression, they can counter it by pursuing therapy
One in three COVID patients who leave hospital are back within three months of their apparent recovery – and one in ten are dead. Patient-led research has associated as many as 200 symptoms with long COVID.
People who have had or suspect they may have had long Covid are almost twice as likely to have experienced depression as those who do not think they have ever contracted coronavirus, research suggests.
Research by the Office and National Statistics revealed that 6.2% of adults said they may have experienced long Covid . Researchers found that 30% reported experiencing moderate to severe depressive symptoms in the last two weeks.
A quarter said were likely to have some form of anxiety, compared with 15% of people not believed to have been hit by Covid.
The ONS said it is not possible to infer cause-and-effect relationships from the results, warning that associations could be the result of other factors such as age, sex, disability status or deprivation level.Considering only those who were sure they had experienced long Covid, 72% said their wellbeing had been negatively affected and 48% said the same about their ability to exercise.
There have been calls for more screening programme after over 200 symptoms of long Covid symptoms were identified by researchers.
Some of the mental health symptoms experienced by patients may be due to the experience of being sick rather than from the virus itself, Susan Borja, PhD- a program chief in the Traumatic Stress Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health – said.
Borja is helping coordinate the COVID-19 mental health research that the institute supports. The top researcher said that Covid-19 patients have higher rates of mental health illness compared with patients with a range of other medical events, like kidney stones or influenza. “But it’s important to look at why and what else is going on,” she said. COVID patients are diagnosed with mental health conditions at similar rates as other trauma survivors.
Susan Borja Image: psychology.unit.edu
There may be broader psychological implications of the COVID experience, rather than the virus itself,” she added
Tim Vizard, ONS principal research officer, said: “Although no single definition of long Covid exists it is likely it affects people in different ways and research is already showing the potential impacts on physical health.
Sad man with protective face mask at homeSad man with protective face mask at home
“Today’s research highlights the potential for people’s mental health, well-being or work to be impacted by long Covid.
“We’ve found more people who may have had long Covid report negative impacts, however more work is needed to disentangle the effects of long Covid from a variety of factors such as age, sex or disability.”