Taiwan’s success in fighting off the COVID-19 pandemic may mean that Taiwan’s people are physically well, but the pandemic is bringing down Taiwanese people’s overall level of mental health. That’s what a newly-released survey commissioned by a Taiwanese mental health organization has found.
The Mental Health Foundation released the results of a biennial nationwide mental health survey on Tuesday. The foundation says that overall, Taiwanese people came into 2020 with better mental health than might be expected. According to the foundation, election years usually see a downturn in levels of mental wellbeing. But while 2020 opened with a presidential election, the foundation found that Taiwanese people were in a better mental state at the start of this year than they have been at the start of previous years. The foundation believes that this may be down to Taiwan’s success in fighting COVID-19.
Unlike in much of the world, where 2020 brought lockdowns and other restrictions, Taiwan saw a relatively normal year, with minimal changes to everyday life. Still, 21.4% of respondents reported that the pandemic has had an impact on their financial situation, and this in turn has led to worsening mental health. If this figure is representative of the general population, this would mean that roughly 3.4 million Taiwanese people have seen worsening mental health due to the economic stresses brought on by the pandemic.
The foundation says that a significant number of respondents suffering from the economic impact of COVID-19 reported lowered feelings of self-worth, one of the facets of mental health the survey measures. Feelings of self-worth were at their lowest levels overall at any time since 2002.
Social distancing measures have also taken a toll on mental health. Though Taiwan has not gone into lockdown and many public places are as crowded as ever, the enforcement of physical distance in some venues led one in every four respondents to report feelings of loneliness and isolation. If this figure is representative, it means that 4.2 million Taiwanese people are struggling with feelings of isolation due to the pandemic.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the foundation by National Taipei University’s Opinion and Election Study Center. The center conducted the survey by telephone between September 3 and 15, and got 1,082 responses.