'Extremely High Levels of Stress' Among Employees in SA
Employees in South Africa are experiencing extremely high rates of psychological distress during the COVID-19 epidemic, researchers report.
"Life with COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown measures has changed everything familiar about 21st century living. As social distancing measures were introduced to flatten the curve and contain the spread of the virus, many people's usual activities, routines or livelihoods were significantly impacted, which lead to a rise in levels of loneliness, depression, harmful substance use, and suicidal behaviour," notes the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) in a statement.
Calls to SADAG's helpline have doubled since the start of the lockdown, with the organisation receiving up to 1 400 calls for help a day.
Mental health has been affected across the board, but new research looked at the specific impact of COVID-19 and its related lockdown measures on people in the workplace. The research was conducted in a sample of 1 656 South African employees and was produced by Afriforte and the WorkWell Research Unit based at North West University, Mindful Revolution and SADAG.
High risk of "Pre-TSD"
Almost half of the respondents (46%) in the survey are at high risk of what researchers call Pre-TSD (Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Pre-TSD is not currently included in the globally accepted handbook for mental disorders - the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSMV).
Lead researcher from Afriforte, Professor Ina Rothmann, says although Pre-TSD does not yet feature in the DSMV, it is "real and founded in scientific knowledge". "The term Pre-T originated in research conducted on Danish soldiers who were well-trained, but the moment they arrived in a war zone, behaviour change was evident. They observed higher risk of being wounded or killed because of atypical bizarre actions. They found Pre-TSD is a form of anxiety, different from the day-to-day stress pre-COVID-19 [or pre any stressful event]," she explains.
"Pre-TSD is a syndrome involving involuntary intrusive images and flash forwards of haunting events that could be experienced during major disruptions such as COVID-19," she says.
Pre-TSD is different to the established diagnosis of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) because it occurs during a stressful event and not afterwards, but it could also be a precursor to develop PTSD.
Racing thoughts and constant worrying; constant feelings of uncertainty or insecurity; loss of objectivity and fearful anticipation; a short temper, irritability, impatience and mood swings; indecisiveness and an inability to focus and concentrate; forgetfulness and absent-mindedness (people acting on 'automatic mode' - doing without thinking); poor judgement and risky decision-making, are all said to be symptoms of Pre-TSD.
Rothmann says that these psychological symptoms can also result in physical symptoms such as "frequent headaches, nausea, heartburn, eating problems, [heart] palpitations, sleep problems and muscle pains and aches, causing individuals to feel chronically stressed and generally unwell at both a psychological and physical level".
The researchers found that 35% of the survey respondents were experiencing some of these physical symptoms.
According to Professor Stoffel Grobler from Mindful Revolution, "even though Pre-TSD is not yet used in mainstream psychiatry, it gives us a vocabulary for what we are going through at the moment both physically and emotionally". He cautions that we "should over-estimate the mental health impact of COVID-19 rather than under-estimate it".
This article was originally published by Spotlight. Photo: OIM