The covid-19 pandemic brought to light the problem of mental illness in Colombia

Experts warn that mental health in Colombia will be a problem for the system in the future, as consultations have increased since the covid-19 pandemic began.

According to Allianz Colombia's National Mental Health Survey, care for the covid-19 pandemic revealed that between 2020 and 2021 four out of five people need help or care for different mental disorders, but don't receive it because they don't know they should have it.

One of the most worrying figures in the survey is that of suicidal behavior during 2021, which increased by 60 events per year.

“This figure is the highest recorded since 2015 and twice higher than the figure for 2020″, and anxiety disorders significantly outperform other conditions.

“Mental health is a matter for all of us. The confinement and uncertainties inherent to the pandemic and other contexts highlighted the need to open honest conversations that leave aside stigma and pointing to open listening and the importance of timely treatment,” said David Colmenares, CEO of Allianz Colombia.

“The growth of patients diagnosed with a depressive episode in 2021 vs. 2020 is important. Reactions to severe stress and adjustment disorders also increased significantly,” he said.

The survey also showed that children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders that are sometimes left unattended. In children aged 7 to 11 years, learning disorders or mental retardation stand out, with 19.4%

On the adult side, the prevalence of any mental disorder is 9.1%, and women are the most affected, with the exception of affective-bipolar disorders.

Work stress, anxiety and fatigue have jeopardized the mental health of workers in Colombia. This is due to the long working days that in contexts such as the home office have affected workers and their families. In fact, currently 85% of people recognize that problems at work have negatively impacted their relationship as a couple, with children or with other close relatives.

Momentu, a startup that democratizes access to mental health for workers in Colombia and LATAM, held a cut of accounts to learn about the psychological impact that the pandemic has had on companies' employees, in which it analyzed information from ANDI, Dane, consultancy Deloitte, an Oracle report and WorkPlace Intelligence, and a report from the Ideas for Peace Foundation (IFJ), among other sources. The objective was to reveal the data that will allow us to know how important companies have placed on the mental health of their employees in times of covid-19.

To highlight, since 2013 the reports of the Ministry of Health, as well as the Occupational Risk Managers (ARL) and the Health Promoting Entities (EPS), have confirmed an increase of at least 30% in the levels of anxiety and depression in workers.

In figures, according to ANDI, 62% of the employees of organizations and companies have suffered from this type of pathology since the declaration of the health emergency, 57% say that teleworking during the pandemic has exceeded eight hours a day and, in the case of women, 61% have seen their working hours increased , compared to 53 per cent of men.

Similarly, figures from DANE confirm that 21 million Colombians in the last year said they had worked more than 40 hours a week. Likewise, 4 out of 10 today prefer to choose which days to go to the office remotely in order to have more flexibility in their schedules, while 49% would change their organization to improve their welfare.

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