Last Saturday, World Mental Health Day was commemorated around the world with messages from politicians, organisations and others who felt the need to speak up about the subject.

This year, mental health has taken on a new meaning, and it is no surprise that there is so much emphasis on the condition.

Covid-19 is a physical disease that has affected more than 37 million people worldwide, with more than one million of them dying. And we have not reached the peak yet. Almost on a daily basis, the world is setting new records in the number of cases registered. The latest record reported by The World Health Organisation shows a staggering 350,000 new cases, worldwide, in one single day.

In Malta, we are no different. We have seen a steady rise in the past few weeks. We have set new records in terms of the number of active cases, topping 800. And the number of deaths is also on the rise here too. Like the rest of the world, we managed to contain the pandemic in the first three months but, once it was realised that the economy could not remain closed, we are experiencing big numbers these days.

But, apart from the “physical” aspects of the virus, it has had its own “side effects” on the mental health of many more millions of people. We have seen our way of life change almost overnight, and this has had an impact on our mental wellbeing.

A sudden change in lifestyle, along with having to adhere to guidelines which we were not accustomed to, had its own bearing on the way we behave. Even the fact that we are required to wear a mask when in public has an effect on us. How many times have we had to turn back and go home to retrieve a mask because we forgot to take one with us?

Added to this, generally speaking we are social animals, and the fact that we have to pull back from a simple hug or even shaking hands when meeting others is something that we needed to get used to even if it goes against our nature. This elbow bump seems so unnatural.

Lately, the growing number of cases in Malta is mostly derived from family and social gatherings, with contagions at the workplace also taking up a big chunk of our cases. Again, this is because as human beings we tend to seek relatives and friends with whom we share time and experiences. We were able to stay away in the first months of the pandemic, going as far as not even visiting our elderly relatives who are considered to be the most vulnerable, but we could not sustain this for long.

We do not think that we would be wrong to say that Covid-19 has affected all of us from a mental health point of view; some more than others. It has created added stress to what was already a stressful life, not least by adding the burden of thinking whether we will have a job next month, or if our partner or children will be coming back from work or school telling us that quarantine is needed because a colleague or other student is positive.

Never before has there been such a need for mental solidarity.