People urged to manage lockdown stress after reports of suicide
People should be mindful of how lockdown conditions are affecting their mental state, said Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Wednesday (April 15).
The pandemic has triggered an economic downturn that is threatening the mental wellbeing of people across the country.
Many report being unable to sleep and becoming anxious. Tempers are fraying as minor irritations become major aggravations for people forced to stay home by the lockdown restrictions.
“Those symptoms are normal reactions of our body to the abnormal situation of the coronavirus outbreak. These are symptoms of acute stress, which will be with us for the next two weeks or month,” said Dr Taweesin.
People could manage their stress levels by staying calm and rationally assessing the current situation, he suggested. The stress reactions would fade over the next few weeks as the lockdown eased.
Taweesin made the comments at the end of his daily report on the Covid-19 situation in Thailand and the wider world.
The comments came after a string of recent reports of suicides or self-harming committed by people stressed out after losing their jobs or being placed in state quarantine.
