Languish, burn-out and stigma – The possible psychological impacts of Delta

Analysis – As New Zealand remains under varying levels of restriction, the psychological toll from Delta’s outbreak may start to show, even as the lockdown eases for everyone outside Auckland.

Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas

We know that the stress and isolation associated with confinement can exacerbate underlying mental illnesses. But even for people without existing concerns, the impact can manifest itself in more subtle ways, on a continuum between blossoming and languishing.

Imagine a T-shaped cross with symptoms of mental illness on the horizontal axis ranging from severe to nonexistent, and sanity on the vertical axis ranging from high (flourishing) to low (languishing). According to this model, it is entirely possible to experience a mental illness while being fulfilling or to have no symptoms of a mental illness, while being in a state where life seems dull and meaningless.

Increased levels of languish were reported in the UK as extended lockdowns continued. New Zealanders, especially in Auckland, are at risk of a similar decline in their mental health as the groundhog days of a prolonged lockdown continue.

Essential workers at risk of burnout

For health workers, prolonged confinements carry a risk of professional burnout. Health Minister Andrew Little recently noted the high levels of stress experienced by nurses and doctors as they continue to provide care under difficult circumstances.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as mental and physical exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from work, and loss of productivity.

Before the lockdown, nurses were on the brink of strike action, spurred by high levels of reported burnout. Continued demand due to Covid-19 is unlikely to mitigate this.

Recent media comments regarding the well-being of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Chief Health Officer Ashley Bloomfield remind us that public servants are not immune either. Essential workers like truck drivers and supermarket workers aren’t either. The latter in particular are at increased risk due to the abuse they suffer from irritated shoppers and the shock of the recent terrorist attack on the supermarket.

Vaccination can relieve anxiety

As more people are fully immunized, people’s perception of the threat of an epidemic is likely to decline. The same goes for our anxiety levels, if we stick to the experience abroad.

This shift in the public mindset makes sense and would signal a step towards us learning to live with Covid-19 in the same way perhaps we have learned to live with other illnesses. But experience to date suggests that this transition is likely to have ups and downs, with the potential continued emergence of new variants of Covid-19.

As vaccination rates rise, there is also a risk that the media and the public will begin to stigmatize identifiable groups who have not been vaccinated, accusing them of the spread of the virus and loss of freedom. New Zealand got a taste of it recently when a group from the Delta outbreak was linked to a Samoan church, sparking racist comments online blaming them for the lockdown.

These types of comments increase the suffering of those already affected by the virus. They also overlook evidence of substantial inequalities in access to health care.

But languor, burnout and stigma are not inevitable consequences of ongoing lockdown. Noticing changes in your own sanity is the first step in avoiding languishing.

– Dougal Sutherland is a clinical psychologist at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. He works for Victoria University of Wellington and Umbrella Wellbeing.