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Stress, Interpersonal Violence and COVID-19

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of our lives, including our mental health. Pandemic-related stress may have an even greater impact on people who are already coping with trauma such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or child maltreatment.

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COVID-19 has changed many aspects of our lives, including our mental health.   

1 in 4 Canadians report improved mental health but:   

• 4 out of 10 Canadians say they regularly feel stress since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic¹
• 3 out of 4 Canadians are experiencing financial stress due to COVID –19 ²
• 1 out of 3 Canadians are concerned about family stress from confinement³ 
• 1 in 10 women are concerned about violence in their homes COVID19, Mental Health and Gender-based Violence⁴

Pandemic-related stress may have an even greater impact on people who are already coping with trauma such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence or child maltreatment.  Even without a pandemic: 

• Women who experience intimate partner violence are twice as likely to experience depression⁵
• 1 in 6 sexual assault victims experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder⁶ 
• 1 in 6 children who experience maltreatment cope with depression/anxiety/withdrawal.⁷

We invite you to consider these strategies if you are experiencing the impacts

of violence and pandemic related stress: 

1. Try to maintain a daily routine:Do tasks that have a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end.  
2. Recognize where and when you have the power to choose: Consider choices you can make in your daily routines, self-care activities (bath, shower), and the media coverage you expose yourself to.  
3. Build-in activities to help you stay in the present: Stay grounded with mindfulness exercises such as yoga.
4. Stay active to help reduce stress:Move often, stretch, dance, go for walks or jog.  
5. Connect with others for a sense of community: Find ways to connect regularly and from a physical distance with those who are important to you through texting, emails, phone calls or video chat. 
6. Try to maintain a healthy diet and get enough sleep: Eat balanced meals regularly. Herbal teas can help promote feelings of warmth and calmness. 
7. Do something you enjoy every day:Think about what you like to do and make time for these activities (e.g. cooking, reading, gardening, listening to a podcast, reading to your children). 
8. Know where to find support in the community: Remember that services, such as sexual assault centres, shelters, crisis lines, and hospital emergency rooms are still providing supports even if they are doing it in different ways.  

References

[1] Mental Health Commission of Canada. (April 2020).  Canadians report an increase in feeling stressed regularly or all the time now compared to one month before COVID-19 (https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2020-05/nanos_covid_may_2020.pdf)

[2] Dujay, John (March 24, 2020). Almost 3 in 4 Canadians experiencing financial stress due to COVID-19: survey. HR Reporter.  https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/compensation-and-benefits/almost-3-in-4-canadians-experiencing-financial-stress-due-to-covid-19-survey/327855

[3] Statistics Canada, (April 8, 2020). Canadian Perspectives Survey Series 1: Impacts on COVID-19. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200408/dq200408c-eng.htm

[4] Statistics Canada, 2020.

[5] World Health Organization. (November 29, 2017). Violence against women. Key facts. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

[6] Conroy, S., Cotter, A. (2017). Self-reported sexual assault in Canada, 2014. Juristat: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

[7] Fallon, B. et al. (2020). Ontario incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect- 2018. Toronto, ON: Child Welfare Research Portal.