Anxiety levels in Malta shoot up in the run-up to a general election, according to psychiatrist Anton Grech, who has seen 10 per cent of his clients relapsing in the past two weeks.
It splits up families, friends and colleagues and our networks disintegrate
Dr Grech, who runs his private practice and is head of psychiatry at Mount Carmel Hospital, said as a consequence the rate at which anxiolytics – anti-anxiety drugs such as Valium – were prescribed also increased ahead of an election.
“Our social networks are very important for our well-being and keep us mentally stable, but an election splits up families, friends and colleagues and our networks disintegrate,” Dr Grech said.
In Malta elections are such hard-fought, nail-biting events that they send vulnerable people who have previously controlled their condition off-kilter.
Since the campaign kicked off at the start of the year, Dr Grech is seeing at least one patient a day relapsing and seeking treatment for anxiety, which they explicitly blame on the election.
Dr Grech, who previously worked in London and was active in his profession during UK general elections, said he had never witnessed a situation where an election affected voters like the Maltese.
“Apart from the clients I see, I’m also being approached during social events or informally contacted by people asking me how they will cope if their party is not elected,” he said.
Some clients pick up on the general atmosphere of anxiety gripping the island and the fear of the unknown causes them shortness of breath, apprehension and an increased heart rate.
Some clients who live off benefits would, for example, hear sound bites from the political discourse on free healthcare and somehow misconstrue the information to assume their free medicine would be affected, sparking fears on how they will cope.
One woman, who previously suffered from depression and insomnia but had been fine for the past months, is back to not sleeping and she is blaming politics.
Elections have also been known to kill and a study led by cardiologist Mark Sammut showed that hospital admissions for heart attacks and angina were significantly higher in the weeks before and after the last 2008 election.
The outcome was such a do-or-die moment for many that deaths from coronary heart disease also practically doubled after the result was out.
Dr Grech’s advice during the long campaign is to seek to control the symptoms of anxiety before popping a pill.
“Try to control your thoughts and emotions and be pragmatic about the situation; try to counter worrying thoughts with more realistic ones.”