Telehealth Solutions Can Change the Attitudes Surrounding Mental Health
The topic of mental health has always been taboo. It is something that is way too common, but few people want to talk about it. Instead, a lot of people suffering from problems like anxiety, depression, suicidal tendency, or eating disorders rarely, if ever talk about it or even bother seeking help. The Covid-19 pandemic worsened many people’s personal struggles as they lost loved ones, lost their jobs, couldn’t pay their rent and mortgages, or were stuck in toxic relationships.
But one silver lining that might have arisen from the devastating pandemic is the emphasis on mental health. The curfews and lockdowns pushed policymakers and providers to take the prospect of telehealth solutions seriously. The initial push for telehealth was to address the issues in accessing care during the worst phase of the curfews when crowded places became potential hotspots for the spread of infection. The situation got so bad that hospital waiting rooms themselves were deemed too risky. In such cases, telemedicine mobile apps were a blessing for people who couldn’t travel for in-person consultations.
What began as a solution for accessing conventional care was soon realized to be an unexpected boon for addressing the challenges around mental healthcare. Over 50 million Americans have reported experiencing mental health problems. This is about the population of some countries in Europe. It’s no wonder that population health experts have claimed this is to be a national health crisis.
However, there is a dearth of therapists whom people can turn to for help. What’s worse is that nearly a third of Americans live in locations that don’t have a single mental health professional. These people would need to travel long distances to seek help.
That is where integrated telehealth solutions can have a major impact. A telemedicine app for doctors helps people book appointments online using their own smartphone applications and have a virtual consultation. The patient and doctor need not be in the same building. They could be in different cities and still have an uninterrupted conversation. This kind of convenience has actually encouraged many people to open up about their personal struggles. All that is needed for a therapy session with a shrink is a smartphone or a laptop, and an internet connection.
The comfort and privacy of one’s own home is perhaps a great catalyst to enable people to talk about their struggles. The prospect of talking to someone about one’s most personal things can be unsettling for many people. Furthermore, society’s views on mental health also worsen this problem. Experts say that mental health should be treated the same as physical health. People are not afraid or ashamed of telling others of an accident, broken bones, or flu. Such health issues are discussed openly and companies even grant medical leaves for employees to deal with them. The same attitude needs to be adopted when it comes to mental health. Telemedicine systems can help get the ball rolling for that.
The conversation around mental health would get normalized if more people found it easy to access mental care. If that happens, more people would build up the courage to open up to others. Advanced telehealth solutions can go a long way in bursting the bubble of stigma around mental health and normalizing the topic.
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