AXA’s new mental health study shows how the social restrictions of the pandemic are affecting the psyche and general well-being.
By Lisa Marie Glove
This text first appeared here brigitte.de.
For the second time after 2020, the insurer AXA is also presenting a mental health report for 2022. This time with a special focus on the psychological consequences of the pandemic. For the study, the international opinion research institute Ipsos conducted a representative online survey of 1,000 people between the ages of 18 and 75 in Germany on behalf of AXA – in a period from September to October 2021. In addition to Germany, people in ten other European and Asian countries were also representative questioned. The study raises awareness “of possible risks to mental health in general and in connection with the corona crisis,” according to the report itself. Particularly alarming: the situation of mothers, especially those in Germany, seems more serious than previously assumed.
Although the long-term consequences of mental stress cannot yet be fully assessed, it is already clear that they are of a more serious nature and “not only for the physical health of the sick, but also for the psyche of the people who are not directly affected. Number and the extent of mental sequelae increases dramatically.” The World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that not only infections or the fear of them put a strain on the psyche, but that all social impairments caused by lockdowns and self-isolation would also affect mental health. It is this multiple burden that causes many sufferers to collapse. Professional help is advisable, but after a medical diagnosis “on average another three to nine months pass before those affected get a place in therapy”.
Politics, business and society have underestimated mental side effects
The study shows how much politics, business and society underestimated the mental side effects of the pandemic. Because according to the survey, 26 percent of those surveyed are currently suffering from mental problems, and this more so in Europe than in Asia: “All respondents reported in particular that they were no longer able to switch off properly (59 percent), felt depressed (59 percent), restless and being agitated (55 percent) or often overreacting (54 percent). These values largely coincide with those of the German respondents.” A full 50 percent of Germans tried to focus on changing their situation themselves during periods of depression. However, 28 percent stated that they had already lost themselves in negative thoughts.
Emotional well-being of women is significantly reduced than that of men
The study also examined the extent to which mental overload differs between women and men. The clear conclusion: “During the pandemic, women suffer more from psychological problems than men, and mothers suffer more than women without children. The stress level increases further when families and especially mothers have to get by without supporting childcare.” The situation of women in the pandemic has thus worsened compared to the previous study, as the Mental Health Report 2022 shows. Because in the previous study, it was women who were more affected by the multiple burdens.
About 47 percent of the women stated that they rarely if ever managed to recharge their batteries and recharge their batteries. Only 43 percent of the men stated this, among the mothers it was about 58 percent. Every eighth mother (12 percent), but only every twentieth father (five percent) stated that they never had time for regenerating breaks. It is therefore not surprising that many women suffered from mental health problems for the first time in their lives during the pandemic. “According to a long-term study by Bielefeld University, women’s life satisfaction and emotional well-being decreased even more in the second lockdown than in the first and significantly more than in men.”
Many women got used to certain strategies for crisis management, the so-called coping. 52 percent stated that they received support in the form of discussions with partners and friends. For men it was only 41 percent. 24 percent of women and 15 percent of men used relaxation techniques. However, the alcohol consumption of men increased more than that of women – this was particularly true for the 25 to 44 year olds.
Mental stress particularly strong in German mothers
It was to be expected that mothers in particular would be more heavily burdened by the pandemic. But according to the Mental Health Report 2022, German mothers suffer the most in an international comparison. Why is that?
According to the report, it is striking “that the mental stress on women with children in Germany is significantly higher than the European average.” Explanation: The women were asked to rate their level of stress over the past 12 months on a scale from 0 to 10. For childless women in Europe (excluding Germany) this was a value of 5.67. The value for mothers was already 6.27 and for mothers without childcare it was even 6.46. For the German mothers, the stress value was even higher, at 6.39, and for mothers without childcare, it was even a value of 7.28. Only German women without children were below the European average with a value of 5.26.
But how can these serious differences be explained? Compared to most other European countries, German mothers are significantly worse off when it comes to childcare, according to the study. “Experts have been pointing out for a long time that Germany has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the supply of municipal or company crèche and kindergarten places as well as day-care centers.”
Another explanation is the revival of the still widespread traditional role model, according to which childcare and household chores are a woman’s job: “According to a socio-scientific study by the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, the proportion of respondents who wanted a partnership to distribute tasks, for example in the Describe work in the household or the homework of the children.” So if childcare was once again eliminated due to the closure of schools and daycare centers, it was often the women who took on the associated care work. In many cases, despite their own work in the office or in the home office, it was the task of the mothers to accompany and organize the home schooling.
Children and young people are among those most affected
The Mental Health Report 2022 also highlights the deadlocked situation of children and young people caused by the pandemic and sees them, along with women and mothers, as also being severely affected. Because they are the ones who were most affected by the lockdown and its measures. “After almost two years of the pandemic, almost every third child shows mental abnormalities,” explains psychotherapist for adults and children Dr. re. medic Deniz Kirschbaum. “Often they become clear in the form of fears and worries, but depressive and psychosomatic symptoms have also increased significantly. This picture is particularly evident in children and adolescents from socially disadvantaged families and families with a migration background. Children and adolescents from ‘stable’ backgrounds show Although there are a bit more resilience factors, the younger generation is generally much more emotionally stressed than before the pandemic. Above all, however, they suffer from reduced social contacts with the peer group, which play an important role in the development of autonomy and identity. “
Because of their own mental stress, many of the people interviewed knew about that of the children and young people whose lives were seriously affected. 52 percent of Germans alone saw the under-19s as the age group most affected by the lockdown measures. In Europe, an average of 43 percent saw it that way, in the other countries of the world 39 percent.
The overwhelming majority of those surveyed – a full 79 percent – considered it particularly important to talk to children about their psychological problems and thereby help them to get out of their depressive phase.
The study aims to help break the taboo on mental illness
According to the study, the most frequently mentioned mental illnesses are depression, followed by feelings of anxiety and stress: “In our study, 37 percent of people in Great Britain say they suffer from a mental illness – 23 percent of those surveyed have depression (…) For comparison: Only 17 percent of the Japanese participants report that they currently have a mental illness. Among the participants from Germany it is 28 percent. 19 percent of the respondents in this country suffer from depression.”
However, at 41 percent, Germans generally felt less affected by the consequences of the pandemic. The European average here was 54 percent. Married couples coped better with the consequences than singles: “While around 20 percent of the married respondents describe their corona depression as ‘extremely severe’, the figure is almost 30 percent for single people.”
The AXA Mental Health Report 2022 aims to pay more attention to the mental health of the population, thereby breaking the taboo that still prevails in many countries when it comes to mental illness. According to the Mental Health Report, only a fraction of those suffering seek professional help, “only every fifth German goes to a doctor because of it.” The World Health Organization (WHO) therefore recommends contacting family doctors or other counseling centers at the first sign of depression or a depressive mood.