[GTranslate]TORONTO – It’s an emergency. Anxiety, depression and stress: the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people’s mental health is dramatic. The second wave of the virus, according to a new poll conducted by Pollara, has eroded the already fragile emotional well-being of residents. Precisely to stem the danger, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is pressing the Ontario government to prioritize the sector in its next budget to be unveiled on March 24.

Research shows that only 35% of Ontario residents consider their mental health “very good” or “excellent,” compared to 52% last May. 36% reported suffering from high or very high levels of stress while a high or very high level of anxiety was indicated by 35% of the people contacted. The survey also found that respondents feel increasingly isolated. 57% reported feeling more alone since the pandemic began, with 47% said they wanted to have someone to talk to while 36% said they were “often, very often or almost always alone.” Almost 80% of those surveyed believe there will be a post-pandemic “serious mental health crisis”, compared to 66% in August and 69% in May. The number of residents of the province feeling a stressful situation and a rapid decline in their mental well-being is constantly increasing in this second wave of the pandemic.

There is no time to lose, according to the CEO of the association’s province branch, more investment is needed from the government: “It is very worrying to see that the mental balance of Ontarians has declined so significantly since our previous survey – noted Camille Quenneville – as service providers, it is very alarming to think about what we will have to do to support the population.”

According to Quenneville, requests for help, already high during the pandemic, are set to increase as society’s return to normality approaches. “In the aftermath of the pandemic many people will have to deal with what they have lost – said the CMHA CEO – that’s why it is important that the government allocates more funds in the sector in its second budget, waiting times in Ontario are astronomical so very significant funding is critical for us right now.”

The second wave of Covid-19 – unfortunately epidemiologists already announce a third characterized by variants – has skyrocketed the levels of anxiety, depression and stress in people who suddenly saw their lives disrupted due to Covid. Being segregated at home, not being able to meet family and friends, minimizing outings out of urgent need – going to work, shopping or the doctor – have put a strain on people’s mental health: from children who have seen a tsunami hit the school, to the elderly who have paid the highest price.

He sees the glass half full, but the province’s health ministry, which oversees mental health services, said it had invested “up to $194 million in emergency funding for mental health and addiction services” and that “these funds have helped more than 57,000 Ontario residents access services.”