With the Christmas season usually being a time when people are more at risk for mental health struggles, a clinical psychotherapist has said even more intervention is needed now due to the added anxieties brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Guyana-born psychotherapist, Shane Tull, who resides in the United States, said within the last few months he and his colleagues have observed an escalation in depression and anxiety among many persons as there has been an uptick in substance abuse, domestic violence and child abuse.
“They’re getting sick not just with COVID. The anxiety of COVID is frightening enough,” he said, while adding that for large groups of people the anxiety has been exacerbated by having to wear masks, social distance, and not knowing when the pandemic will be over.