“I think there are similarities to wartime” Psychologist Malie Coyne on why minding our mental health is more important than ever

"We’ve just gone into this without even knowing it was going to happen."

The current Covid-19 crisis has taken its toll on society in many ways. It's affected our businesses, our social lives and of course, our mental health. Speaking on JOE's business show, All In, which is backed by AIB, Dr. Malie Coyne discussed the realities of isolation for those who are most vulnerable and the importance of positive mental health in a time of crisis. "I think there are aspects of it that are very similar to war-like conditions in terms of lockdown and not being able to go places, to travel freely and to have your freedom taken from you. "You have this unknown predator, if you want to call it that way. You’re trying to fight an unknown enemy and it’s very difficult in that way. And I think there will be a lot of trauma after this for sure," she continues. "As a psychologist, I’m fully expecting that children, families, adults, older people, there’s going to be a lot of people to help during this, but probably more even after this to kind of figure out how it’s affected them. We’ve just gone into this without even knowing it was going to happen. "I’ve been seeing loads of jokes but also loads of amazing things online that talk about, rather than seeing this as a time where you’re locked down, to kind of see it as a time where you’re safely cocooned or you have your choice to be safe at home. "So that is kind of how you’re fighting the war and how you’re being compassionate to your fellow human beings is to be at home and stay at home and follow the guidelines. "I think there are similarities to wartime, there’s also differences but I think there will be unfortunately trauma resulting from this and I think the way we manage this on a daily basis now, how we support each other, how we support ourselves, how we look after ourselves everyday, is going to be the difference between how traumatic this is in the long term."

All In, backed by AIB, is available everywhere you get your podcasts and on YouTube.