The pandemic is taking a major toll on mental health in Sask.: survey

While many people may be looking forward to this weekend's loosening of pandemic restrictions in Saskatchewan, some are anxious about the province's reopening plan.

"It really has been a form of trauma," said Phyllis O'Connor, executive director of the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

"People are going to have different reactions. Some folks who were really feeling constricted by being at home and isolated are going to just be in their glory. But there's going to be others that, for them, it's going to be a source of anxiety. Because for over a year now, they've been told that home is the safe place."

The Saskatchewan government is set to start Step 1 of its reopening roadmap on Sunday. It means restaurants and bars can increase seating at tables, household bubbles can expand to 10 people and public outdoor gatherings of 150 will be allowed.

LISTEN | Phyllis O'Connor appeared on Saskatoon Morning with host Leisha Grebinski

O'Connor said that for more than a year, some people have seen workplaces and restaurants as inherently dangerous.

"I think we're going to see a lot of people that are going to need a gradual reintroduction into work just to kind of feel safe," she said. "I think we're going to see quite a bit of anxiety. And the fact of the matter is, you know, COVID is not gone yet."

That anxiety was seen in a recently released countrywide survey for Mental Health Research Canada. The survey was done in February and included questions to almost 600 people in Saskatchewan.

It found there were significant increases in anxiety and depression because of the pandemic, especially in younger adults and women.

It also found that fewer people were able to access mental health supports. 

The report said the main reasons for anxiety and depression were a disruption to normalcy and ongoing social isolation. 

Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Saskatchewan, helped analyze the survey.

Muhajarine said the virus is a threat to people's physical and mental well being, as are the measures that have been put in place to control the pandemic itself.

"For example, being isolated from social groups, or not being able to do things that they enjoy doing," he said.

Young adults are especially vulnerable because of where they are in their lives, he said.

"They're trying to find a place in their social groups. People are beginning to work after completing their education and training," Muhajarine said. "They have less life experience to draw from."

He said many women play multiple roles in their families — from working to child-rearing and parental care — and the pressure has only increased during the pandemic.

 O'Connor said it is important for people feeling anxiety or depression to reach out for help. 

O'Connor said we have to try to be kind to each other.

"You have to let go of what you can't control. For example, what your neighbours are doing or what some other parents are doing. This is out of your control. You have to let that go and kind of work on your own anxiety."

Muhajarine said the physical and mental health effects will linger long after the pandemic is over.

"People would have lost work. They would have lost relationships. They would still be grieving from people that they lost during the pandemic," he said.

The survey was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights on behalf of Mental Health Research Canada, supported by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, and analyzed by researchers at the Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit.

The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 4.07 per cent, 19 times out of 20.