Dear World Leaders,

Coronaviurs. COVID-19. The "Silent-Killer", The "Invisible Enemy".

Its hard to go a day without hearing these phrases. This is the world we live in now. A global pandemic that has hit every corner of the planet and has affected every person one way or another. While the disheartening and devastating effects of such an outbreak may seem simple, the effects it may have are much broader. This is not written in vain. This is not written to shift attention from the actual people suffering from the virus. This is merely asking everyone to join hands and recognize the millions of people globally struggling with mental health issues right now. Our life has changed. Our plans have been put on hold and our livelihoods have followed suit. This is not easy for anyone to do by no stretch of the imagination but the implications of staying home on some people has already been damaging.

From someone who has battled and continues to battle my own mental health issues reading about suicides across the world has broken my heart. I too have suffered with severe anxiety since early 2018. This led to me becoming isolated from everyday life and from the people around me. This anxiety slowly led to severe self-loathing, something that still affects me to this day. Depression kicked in as i fell ill in February of 2018, leaving me bed bound for 3 months and me gaining 30kg from the heavy medication i was taking. Since then however, my mental state has improved drastically and my mind is clearer than it has ever been. Opening up was the key to this and i will be forever grateful to the person i first opened up to for accepting me with such love and not judging my actions.

The main psychological impact are elevated rates of stress or anxiety. These come hand in hand with an increased sense of loneliness and depression that may even lead to drug abuse and alcohol abuse that may even end up even leading to death. The measures put in place however, are vital and must be followed with extreme discipline. Not enough is being said however about how this virus and this lockdown is affecting people mentally. For people who suffer with self loathing, feeling that you are not good enough, not good at this, not good at that, not good at anything, this period can be a dark place for these thoughts to really eat away at your soul. For people who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance, having to attend online meetings and work via online platforms can be a challenge. On top of that, being stuck at home may lead to more time worrying about these flaws as people are less occupied and away from their normal daily routines. This is just a handful of many mental health issues that have been enhanced due to the lockdown measures.

The media, news outlets and health organizations have failed to take sufficient action in reaching out to these people in this time of need. While i understand that they may be preoccupied with the thousands affected by the virus, its something that can't just go unnoticed. Therefore, to make sure the burden on the wonderful and brave care workers across the globe isn't increased, i've created a platform for people to message and talk about what they're going through. Talking to someone who does not know you or have any prior preconceptions about you can be extremely refreshing and healthy on the human mind. Everything will forever remain confidential. My sole purpose is to offer a warm embrace to people around the globe and proving to them that there is hope out there.

This petition asks all world leaders across the globe to understand the necessity of addressing the mental health impacts of the virus in much more detail and provide extensive support to people through various shapes or forms. This is what this petition hopes to achieve. Global Awareness from the people in power. With your help we can achieve this if we amass enough support

The messaging platform is available on Twitter and Instagram under the handle @LockdownPal

You are not alone. You are Loved. Let's beat this together.

Stay Safe Stay Home Stay Healthy

Regards, Millions of People across the world.