Covid-19 - Psychological research and treatment

In the days before CFS, it was felt that one of the reasons for the prejudice against ME was because of the number of doctors who became ill. Rather than it making the medical profession believe it was real it had the opposite effect. It was a form of denial, that only doctors who just weren't up to it got it, rather than there being a disease out there that could change your life in an instant.

I read a biography of a doctor with MS who faced the same sort of disdain when she became ill with but had not been diagnosed. One former mentor said he was disappointed that she did not have the staying power to work at it properly.
 
Merged thread

Fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic – should we prepare for a tsunami of post viral depression?, 2020, Lyons et al

The current Covid-19 pandemic is not just a medical and social tragedy, but within the threat of the outbreak looms the potential for a significant and persistent negative mental health impact, based on previous experience with other pandemics such as SARS in 2003 and the earlier H1N1 outbreak of 1918. This piece will highlight the links between depression and viral illnesses and explore important overlaps with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, potentially implicating inflammatory mechanisms in those exposed to a range of viral agents. While containment of psychological distress currently focuses on social anxiety and quarantine measures, a second wave of psychological morbidity due to viral illness may be imminent.
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Abstract, https://www.cambridge.org/core/jour...l-depression/779EC572B546D74A66899840786D8529
Link to open access PDF, https://www.cambridge.org/core/serv...re_for_a_tsunami_of_post_viral_depression.pdf
 
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If there isn't a tsunami of depression then you can bet your life they'll redefine what depression means!

This pandemic is a godsend for the MUS, IAPT brigade. No matter what inroads made so far in showing it up for the nonsense it is, they'll be using the pandemic as an excuse for years to come.
 
Considering there is no such thing as "post viral depression", no, no preparation needed.

All this is showing is that the field of mental health literally cannot tell depression apart from other things. Same with anxiety. Or frankly mental illness. It's literally all just guesses and opinions. This wouldn't be a problem if those opinions were measured but, no, they are fanatical and aggressive, more cult-like than anything having to do with science.

At this point just put the homeopaths in charge who gives a damn there's literally no difference.

It asks the question:
What can psychiatrists do?
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And the clear answer is not a damned thing, psychiatrists are much more likely to wreak havoc here, they almost always do. Not because the specialty cannot help, but because of historical grandfathered belief systems, it is incapable of doing so in the present circumstances. It has decades of failure to self-reflect upon before being of any use. Heal thyself first, doc.
 
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Preprint
Mental health in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: early observations

View ORCID ProfileRu Jia, View ORCID ProfileKieran Ayling, View ORCID ProfileTrudie Chalder, Adam Massey, View ORCID ProfileElizabeth Broadbent, View ORCID ProfileCarol Coupland, View ORCID ProfileKavita Vedhara

Abstract
Background: Previous pandemics have resulted in significant consequences for mental health. Here we report the mental health sequela of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK population and examine modifiable and non-modifiable explanatory factors associated with mental health outcomes. We focus on the short-term consequences for mental health, as reported during the first four-six weeks of social distancing measures being introduced.

Methods: A community cohort study was conducted with adults aged ≥18 years recruited through a mainstream and social media campaign between 3/4/20-30/4/20. Consenting participants completed an online survey measuring depression, anxiety and stress and explanatory variables hypothesised to be related to these mental health outcomes.

Outcomes: N=3097 eligible individuals participated. The cohort was predominantly female (85%); mean age forty-four years; 10% from minority ethnic groups; 50% described themselves as key-workers and 20% identified as having clinical risk factors putting them at increased risk of COVID-19. Mean scores for depression, stress and anxiety significantly exceeded population norms. Analysis of non-modifiable factors indicated that being younger and female were associated with all outcomes, with the final multivariable models accounting for 7-13% of variance.

When adding modifiable factors, significant independent effects emerged for positive mood, perceived loneliness and worry about getting COVID-19 for all outcomes, with the final multivariable models accounting for 54-57% of variance.

Interpretation: Increased psychological morbidity was evident in this UK cohort, with younger people and women at particular risk. Interventions targeting perceptions of: loneliness, risk of COVID-19, worry about COVID-19, and positive mood may be effective.

Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
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https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.14.20102012v1
 
From the quote in post #68 :

"The cohort was predominantly female (85%)"

I thought that men were the worst sufferers of severe Covid-19?

A community cohort study was conducted with adults aged ≥18 years recruited through a mainstream and social media campaign

There must have been something dodgy about the design of the recruitment campaign if they ended up with a cohort which was 85% female.
 
Sly Saint said:
Preprint
Mental health in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: early observations

View ORCID ProfileRu Jia, View ORCID ProfileKieran Ayling, View ORCID ProfileTrudie Chalder, Adam Massey, View ORCID ProfileElizabeth Broadbent, View ORCID ProfileCarol Coupland, View ORCID ProfileKavita Vedhara


https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.14.20102012v1
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explanatory variables hypothesised to be related to these mental health outcomes
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What the hell is this word salad?

Lies, damned lies and statistics.
 
Back on the 'Mind, Body, Illness: Amidst Pandemic, Opportunities for discovery' blog highlighted earlier the dialogue continues in the comments.

The author has this to say in response to a rather well written critique by a respondent:

Infection is a complex phenomenon and does not arise from simple single causes, like exposure to a virus. So to understand how infection arises, it is necessary to understand the biology of both the virus and the host, and if the host is human, then the biology is linked to that person’s mental life and social experiences. A virus does not “replicate itself” from its genes within a passive human body. Its capacity to cause infection requires certain necessary conditions in that body’s cells, immune system, and brain. This is not “blaming the victim.” The column points to many social factors that impact the psychological well-being of people, and which, therefore, are relevant to the biology of infection.
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To me it looks like yet another example of opining on a subject for which they have knowledge but of the most shallow kind. Then they just dive right in to the deep end.

The irony being that by doing so they end up drowning the rest of us with their 'expertise'.
 
Snowdrop said:
Back on the 'Mind, Body, Illness: Amidst Pandemic, Opportunities for discovery' blog highlighted earlier the dialogue continues in the comments.

The author has this to say in response to a rather well written critique by a respondent:



To me it looks like yet another example of opining on a subject for which they have knowledge but of the most shallow kind. Then they just dive right in to the deep end.

The irony being that by doing so they end up drowning the rest of us with their 'expertise'.
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Condescension always looks bad. It looks absolutely pathetic when it condescends on woo.

This is a bunch of woo. It suggests one can essentially shield against a viral infection by happy thoughts, or something to that effect. Completely ridiculous.
 
2kidswithME said:
Has anyone else seen this? Came up as a sponsored ad on FB.

https://psychiatryoxford.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8owcGAKKo1dL1vD

Comments I saw were almost entirely negative, which is encouraging, that people can see through the assumptions etc.

Apologies if already posted somewhere, I didn’t do a thorough search.
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Whew now that is what we call loaded questions. They are almost all framed in the most extreme possible way. This is borderline "when have you stopped beating your wife?" level of loaded questions.

I can reduce this questionnaire to a simple question:
1. ARE YOU SUPER DUPER EXTREMELY CATASTROPHISING?

a. Yes.

b. YES I AM AFRAID OF MY SHADOW AND THE UNIVERSE IS SHATTERING IN FRONT OF MY EYES!!!

c. I HAVE NOW TWICE DIED OF FRIGHT PLEASE MAKE MY CORPSE BEAUTIFUL​
 
Wow, I mean, seriously look at those questions:

19. My response to the lockdown shows that I am a bad person.

20. My life is worthless now.

21. Whenever my breath is short I think I've got the virus.

22. If I feel hot, I think I'm dying.

29. The virus is on almost every surface.

30. Everything is contaminated with the virus.

34. People are deliberately trying to give me the virus.

35. The virus is particularly going after me.

38. If anyone is going to get coronavirus, it will definitely be me.

39. I deserve to get coronavirus.
​
Seriously these people need help. Real help. Chill a bit. Have a beer. Go gardening. I don't know, that stuff is not healthy.
​
 
rvallee said:
Wow, I mean, seriously look at those questions:

19. My response to the lockdown shows that I am a bad person.

20. My life is worthless now.

21. Whenever my breath is short I think I've got the virus.

22. If I feel hot, I think I'm dying.

29. The virus is on almost every surface.

30. Everything is contaminated with the virus.

34. People are deliberately trying to give me the virus.

35. The virus is particularly going after me.

38. If anyone is going to get coronavirus, it will definitely be me.

39. I deserve to get coronavirus.
​
Seriously these people need help. Real help. Chill a bit. Have a beer. Go gardening. I don't know, that stuff is not healthy.
​
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Who are the real catastrophists here? The people answering the questions, or the ones asking them?
 
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