MANAMA — A survey conducted by the "Umatter" campaign for "Mental Health and Well-being" revealed that 90% of Bahrainis had to cancel important personal projects related to education, work or marriage due to the extraordinary circumstances placed on Bahrain and the world by the COVID-19 pandemic. In parallel, feelings of anxiety and physical and psychological stress have troubled them for such a considerable periods in the recent times.

The survey conducted by the "Umatter" campaign showed that 27% of the respondents are extremely concerned about the impact of the pandemic on their financial income and standard of living, and 81% said that they felt they had no interest in practicing their favorite activities over the past months, and that this feeling haunts them all or most of the time, and 73% said that they do not feel positive about their life most of the time.

The results of the survey also concluded that 54% of the respondents do not have a person within their family circle, work, or community who they can fully trust-in and communicate their personal matters and emotional disturbance with, but only 9% of them have recently seen a social counselor, therapist, or psychiatrist recently.

Wael Zaki, the founder of "Umatter" campaign and Strategic Leadership & Human Development Adviser, said that the levels of mental health and wellbeing for the people in the kingdom of Bahrain are good compared to other societies, despite the numbers indicated by the survey.

"The significant support by the government in terms of responding to the pandemic, ensuring payment of employee salaries or canceling EWA bills and other expenses, in addition to other decisions related to flexible and remote work, has contributed to mitigate to the great possible extent the negative psychological and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

He affirmed that "Umatter" campaign was launched as a nonprofit mental health and wellbeing campaign in Bahrain under the patronage of Sheikh Hisham Bin Abdul Rahman Al Khalifa, governor of the Capital Governorate, and in association with WHO & UNDP, in addition to the participation of mental health and wellbeing experts.

Rula Husseini, the co-founder of “Umatter, Talent Management and Life Skills Adviser”, explained that the campaign aims to identify how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the mental health of various groups, in preparation for the best ways to help overcome the challenges that everyone suffered as a result of the extraordinary circumstances put on Bahrain and various countries of the world by the pandemic.

"There is a lot that can be done to restore positivity and hope, especially with the light finally appearing at the end of the tunnel, and the precedence of the Kingdom of Bahrain in seizing large quantities of this vaccine, in addition to social and economic support initiatives that have contributed to mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic,” she added.

The findings of the survey will be addressed in an online forum organized by "Umatter" campaign entitled "Rebuilding Mental Health Towards Economic and Social Recovery", on Nov. 30, in association with WHO, UNDP, ILO, and California State University, East Bay. — SG