Why the economy and mental health also matter during a crisis

One of my older relatives lost his job during the Iranian revolution. It affected him so badly that he never got a proper job after that. He lost his family, gambled his savings and lived a life some would argue he was not destined to live. He is 80 now. The sad and destructive life he had may have been very different to the life he could have had. I have a friend of mine whose son got into some issues, became depressed and got institutionalised. He is under 30. He is still in the institution. A life wasted. Some would argue that mental health is as important as being alive. After all, for many, losing their mental health and mental stability is as bad as a death sentence. They may be alive but they are no longer living. Some lucky ones make it back; many don’t. I am no psychologist but I can’t help but to think just how many people are going to be left with long-term mental health issues because of this prolonged and in many respects unnecessary total lockdown. The people around me are pretty much all well to-do, wealthy and with relatively stable families. I am seeing signs of depression, despair, divorce and long-term damage in these people. I cannot even imagine what life is like for some of those who have lost jobs or are in much worse-off positions. When are governments going to start thinking about the long term effects of what they are doing? Not just economically but in terms of the general mental health of nations? THAT has its costs too, in lives lost. Maybe not straight-away, but lost over years and decades of depression, unhappiness, broken families and despair. If the UK government’s own scientific advisor doesn’t believe in the lockdown, then why do they insist with it in such a draconian way? No large-scale testing, no allowing those who have had it to get back to work, no segregation of age groups and no logic. Just fear, incited by the media. Everyone seems to have a “definitive" opinion on the “virus”! The fact is that if you think you know, you don’t. I don’t claim to know anything. I just think there should be a balance between health, mental health, people’s livelihood & the economy. They ALL matter.