Opening up, with relief, joy, excitement ... and anxiety

There is relief, joy and excitement across the state as we emerge finally from lockdown, with Melbournians expected to flock to the regions, to catch up finally with friends and family and to get back to nature after months locked in.

But that will also cause anxiety for many people too, as our COVID-19 cases stay high, and hospitalisations and loss of life continue in troubling numbers.

And those cases continue to put huge strain on our health system and our frontline workers.

So, as if the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't delivered enough unprecedented experiences to us all here in Victoria, this weekend marks another.

For the first time, the whole state is emerging out of lockdown without the certainty and reassurance of those 'doughnut days' of zero cases in a row.

Some of us will still rush out, others will take it slower.

The hope and faith is that our vaccination rates will keep us safe and put an end to large outbreaks and lockdowns, and to the anxiety and stresses they have inflicted in so many ways.

But we know, from instinct, past experience and from the lessons across the globe, that it is not over yet and the mental health impacts of COVID will persist well after we 'open our doors'.

Amid all the joy of lifting out of lockdown is the reality of what COVID has meant for us, particularly in Victoria. We expect it will cast a long shadow on mental health, with impacts - as we've seen in many disasters like our bushfires - that are delayed and unpredictable.

We need to be ready to support those experiencing that, but also to be mindful the mental health system itself - our frontline professionals in services across Victoria - is also under strain, from COVID, from reform, from fatigue, from overwork.

That's tough for so many individuals, families and communities, and it's a challenge for the work we do at Mental Health Victoria, to make sure we understand what's happening and are ensuring the right support is in the right place at the right time.

One of the big issues on our horizon is ongoing mental health support for people recovering from COVID, a so far underexplored issue in Victoria, and in most jurisdictions. Emerging global research is telling us there is a link between contracting COVID-19, and long-term mental health outcomes, attached to so-called 'Long-COVID'. So we will be urging the state government to invest in research that can inform future health service planning.

And it will be critical in Victoria, where case numbers are comparatively high, and unevenly distributed among many at-risk individuals and communities, a further demonstration of how COVID has shone a spotlight on, and exacerbated, existing inequity and vulnerability.

We have been lucky that Victoria had already been involved in big structural reform of the mental health system when COVID arrived, and we are confident the Royal Commission's findings will ultimately transform mental health care across the state.

But we know that the state government's laudable commitment to implement all of the Royal Commission's recommendations in full and as quickly as possible must not prevent them from responding to emerging and acute need as it arises.

We must not allow 'hidden' communities of need - and that too, of course, includes rural and regional areas - to go unnoticed, or unsupported, at a time when billions of dollars of investment are flowing.

These are some of the key issues we are investigating at Mental Health Victoria, at this critical juncture for our state. But for now, I want to wish you all the best for this weekend and the coming weeks and months.

I hope you are able to safely catch up with loved ones and to take a break from gruelling routines, particularly those of you who are in carer roles, whether for kids or others who need support.

I hope you get a chance to swim in the ocean or walk in a national park, to have fun, to take a breath.