May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to focus on ending the stigma of mental illness as well as amplifying systems of support available to those who may be struggling in our communities. Mental disorders like anxiety and depression are so common that nearly one in six individuals will have experienced one or both in just the last week alone. That’s a staggering number, and it proves how important it is to shine a light on this issue not just throughout the month of May but all year long.

Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

In 2021, dacadoo is focused on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on mental wellbeing around the world. Everything about daily life, from family time to work, changed dramatically in March of 2020. Parents with young children have been forced to juggle their workload with the needs of the whole family. Women, especially, are bearing a larger portion of that struggle overall. Meanwhile, those living alone and in small apartments have been forced into isolation for months on end, triggering feelings of loneliness that only exacerbate instances of depression and anxiety.

Mental health is a highly important piece of the puzzle when it comes to a person’s holistic health. Stress, anxiety, and depression have detrimental effects on diet and often lead to a lack of exercise. Living with a common mental disorder like anxiety or depression – or more often a combination of both – can affect one’s ability to participate in school, work, and social functions over time.

Work Stress and Burnout

Unfortunately for many people globally, as pandemic stressors like social isolation and fear of the unknown have become more intense, workloads have not decreased. According to the Financial Times, many workers, especially in the UK, reported feeling pressured to overperform and overextend themselves to prove their usefulness and keep up with work. This is true even as many have taken on the additional burden of parenting for children attending school remotely at the same time.

As the pandemic lumbers into its second year, the potential for worker burnout is higher than ever. There’s also growing evidence that even workers outside of the healthcare field may be experiencing PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) from simply living through the pandemic. The consequences of COVID-19 on mental health are far-reaching and will need to be dealt with for months, and even years, to come.

Focus on Mental Wellbeing

dacadoo’s Wheel of Life™ – our Digital Health Engagement Platform – emphasizes the importance of mental health with dedicated sections for Mental Wellbeing and Mindfulness. These sections offer meditation tips, personalized advice, and actionable goals for users to engage with throughout their day. The focus on mental wellbeing is important because it affects every other category on the Wheel of Life™, as they all feed into each other. For a holistic health picture, users receive encouragement and access to a digital health coach to help them prioritize sleep, nutrition, meditation, and a healthy mind.

To fight burnout and a drastic rise in mental disorders, dacadoo is committed to offering the right tools to help users deal with feelings of anxiety and depression as they come up. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re helping destigmatize mental illness and offering real-world solutions for insurers and employers globally.

Get in touch to learn more.