Social Resets and Suicides during Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. Well-known as a public health problem, suicide is known to cause many deaths during periods of economic and social unrest. Through the social changes imposed by the political and medical actors, the society knows old challenges, but also some completely new ones, which seem to influence the suicidal behavior among the population.

Aim. The paper tries to present the effects of anti-Covid-19 social measures, especially those decided by the Romanian authorities between March 2020 and March 2021, on mental health and suicidal behavior. Also, by assessing the public policy intentions expressed publicly in European leadership circles for the medium-term future, we wanted to identify the impact on lifestyle and suicidal behaviour.

Materials and method. The paper uses the medical literature in order to identify traditional or new risk factors for suicide, introduced into society by SARS-Cov-2 and the social restrictions that accompanied it. Also, sources from the domestic and international media are used to evaluate the future announced social resets and the possible impact on the suicidal behavior among the Romanian population.

Results. The feeling of induced fear and the change of some social routines, imposed by the political factors in the context of the Covid-19 virus, are supposed to be accompanied by increases in the suicide rate. The new economic challenges and social antagonisms, predictable for the near future, bring with them the risk of increasing suicidal behavior among the world's population and Romania.

Conclusion. In various countries, suicide rates have risen during the pandemic. New social measures are announced in authoritarian tones, with no intention of assessing the impact on the mental health of the population. The implementation of these innovative measures should be done only after balancing the psychological and psychiatric impact. The alternative could be the emergence of new epidemics of mental illness and suicide, which can unbalance society, as has never happened before.