The more things are supposed to change the more they remain the same. The covid-19 pandemic, unfortunately, added a toll on mental health.
Public health experts have repeatedly said that there is manifold increase in mental health cases amid the virulent disease with many attributing the rising stress and anxiety levels to isolation, loss of loved ones, economic uncertainty and the fear of contracting the disease.
As per an expert, nearly half of patients do not have any history of mental illness and despite the lifting of lockdowns; the number of cases remained largely the same.
Without a doubt, the lives have got disrupted, livelihoods of the people hurt, or even destroyed due to the pandemic. As a consequence, evidently, there is anxiety, fear, stress, and trauma.
The pandemic has surely aggravated the situation, leaving those having such issues to struggle with the symptoms and disabilities that result from what is basically and undeniable a disease which to a large extent is curable. What makes the challenge more difficult is stereotypes and prejudice such people face purely as a result from misconceptions about mental illness. As a result, people with mental illness are robbed of the opportunities that define a quality life—good jobs, satisfactory health care, and association with a diverse group of people.
The people having mental illness not only face the public stigma which is the reaction that the general population has towards them but also self-stigma which is defined as prejudice which they turn against themselves.
Unless services are available, addressing the mental issues would remain distant.
Let alone Jammu and Kashmir, all states and UTs across India spends little on mental health care. Against World Health Organization norms, the mental health personnel are paltry to say the least.
There are structural shortcomings that need finances and infrastructure to overcome. There are also immediate needs that are to be addressed on various fronts within a reasonable dispatch. The government needs to be responsible, considerate and humane in dealing with mental health issues. Several ways can be worked out but for present the facilities for treatment, for those under deep stress, need to be upgraded without delay. The people also need do away with stigmatising mental health with labels and taboos. Also, importantly there is a need to understand how mental health issues get aggravated by the lack of empathy and lack of awareness in society.

September was the worst month in J&K on covid-19 front given the steep rise in the infections as well as the deaths. Between September 1 and 30, 37372 people tested positive for the pestilence with the total tally reaching 75070.  The cases reported in the single month were almost equal to the infections reported ever since the first case reported was on March 7.
In the month of August, 20359 cases were reported, thus recording a surge of 183% in September. However there has been a decline in the number of cases since the beginning of October and the trend continued throughout the autumn month as 19715 were confirmed to be infected, registering a drop of around 59 percent in cases compared to September. More importantly, the reduction in daily cases has continued despite no appreciable change in overall testing numbers as according to the official data 681179 people were tested for Covid-19 in October compared to 656363 in September.
On death count, the virus claimed 297 people in October—144 in Kashmir and 153 in Jammu.
By the end of September, the number of those who succumbed to virus was 1184 people. In the month of August 323 deaths were reported as the toll was 705, meaning thereby that 479 died in September due to the covid-19, registering a decrease of 38 percent in deaths.
As the data shows, there is a definite slowing down of the cases in the past few months, the people should not lower the guard and the government should increase or maintain the number of tests done. While peaking and a reduction in cases is a good sign that could ease the strain on the health infrastructure, the danger the pestilence poses is still real. The dip in cases may turn out to be just a statistical blip as the second surge and heightened spread cannot be ruled out especially during the winter. A case in example is Britain where the prime minister ordered back into a lockdown after the kingdom passed the grim milestone of one million Covid-19 cases and the second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the health service. Most of the restrictions on the covid-19 front in J&K have been eased as the economic strain peaked as a consequence of the extended lockdown. People must not get complacent about the drop in the virus cases and should religiously observe norms of social distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene till there is an affordable vaccine available.