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Abstract
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Planned long before the COVID-19 pandemic afflicted millions of people across the globe, this special journal issue focuses on depression and suicidality. This sequel to our noteworthy January 2020 issue, edited by Barbara Jones Warren, includes 10 articles and three columns on depression-related topics. Herein, you will find a wealth of useful information on a screening tool for bipolar disorder, interventions with suicidal behavior, perinatal depression in both men and women, and much more.
Yet, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the dark shadow of COVID-19 that hangs over all of us, increasing the prevalence of depression and suicidality. At this writing, two-thirds of Americans reported feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness or hopelessness during the 7 days prior to a recent survey conducted by the University of Chicago (Webber & Fingerhut, 2020). The nightly television news brings heartbreaking stories, such as the suicides of a female physician who had treated COVID-19 victims and a young male whose Narcotics Anonymous meetings had been canceled because of the ban on gatherings of more than 10 people.
Ghebreyesus (2020) points out that depression is included among the mental and neurological manifestations of COVID-19, and that the disease exacerbates preexisting mental conditions as well. Unutzer et al. (2020) warn of increased risk for developing suicidal ideation in those with preexisting mental health disorders, some of whom live in poverty. Government orders to “shelter in place” because of the pandemic condemn such individuals not only to isolation that can intensify hopelessness but also to the dangers being confined in dilapidated housing ...
Language: en |