The COVID‐19 pandemic impact on wellbeing and mental health in people with psychotic and bipolar disorders

. 2022 Apr 6;12(5):e2559. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2559

Questions	Response alternatives
I have:	Bipolar disorder/psychotic disorder
This survey concerns the situation during the corona pandemic, meaning after March 12
Are you concerned about the consequences of the corona outbreak?	No/yes
Have you followed government recommendations regarding social distancing and hand washing?	Not at all/a little/a lot
The following questions concern how you are doing now^a
All in all, how satisfied are you with your life now?	0 (not satisfied at all)—10 (very satisfied)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
All in all, to what degree do you experience that what you do in life is meaningful?	0 (not meaningful at all)—10 (very meaningful)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
To what extent do you agree with the following statement: My social relationships are supportive and rewarding? –Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	0 (strongly disagree)—10 (strongly agree) Become worse/No change/Become better
Think about how you have felt the past 2 weeks. To what extent have you been^a
•Happy	0 (not at all) —10 (to a great extent)
•Engaged •Calm and relaxed	0 (not at all) —10 (to a great extent) 0 (not at all) —10 (to a great extent)
–Have these feelings changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
To what extent have you experienced the following during the past 2 weeks? (0 = “not at all” and 10 = “to a great extent”)^b
Suicide thoughts or thoughts about self‐harming	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/become better
Loneliness	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/become better
A lot more happy/cheerful/elevated than usual several days in a row	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Less/No change/More
A lot more irritable than usual, several days in a row	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Less/No change/More
A lot more active than usual, several days in a row	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Less/no change/more
To what extent have you experienced the following during the past 2 weeks?
Hearing or seeing something that others do not hear or see	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
Feeling persecuted or that someone wants to hurt you	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
Feeling that you are an extraordinary person or that you have special powers	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
Feeling that your surroundings or other people are strange, not genuine or unreal	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
Feeling that your thoughts are chaotic	0 (not at all)—10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
Feeling that what is communicated on television, radio, internet, or in newspapers is about you in particular	0 (not at all) —10 (to a great extent)
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Become worse/No change/Become better
Recovery
Did you experience that your mental health difficulties were in recovery before the corona outbreak?	0 (not at all) —10 (to a great extent)
Do you experience that your mental health difficulties are in recovery now?	0 (not at all) —10 (to a great extent)
The following are questions about your life now compared to before the corona outbreak
Treatment
Where did you receive treatment for your psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder when the corona outbreak started on March 12? Select all that apply.	No treatment/general practitioner/outpatient clinic/ambulatory (e.g., FACT/ACT team), meeting at home or outdoors)/inpatient ward/community health worker/psychologist or psychiatrist in private practice/other
Where do you receive treatment for your psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder now? Select all that apply.	No treatment/general practitioner/outpatient clinic/ambulatory (e.g., FACT/ACT team), meeting at home or outdoors)/inpatient ward/community health worker/psychologist or psychiatrist in private practice/other
How was treatment delivered when the corona outbreak started on March 12? Select all that apply.^c	At outpatient clinic or in hospital/via phone/via text messages/via chat/via videoconference (e.g., Skype, Confrere, etc.)/outdoors/at home/other
How is treatment delivered now? Select all that apply.^d	At outpatient clinic or in hospital/via phone/via text messages/via chat/via videoconference (e.g., Skype, Confrere, etc.)/outdoors/at home/other
Are there any new elements of treatment delivery you would like to continue when the corona pandemic is over? Select all that apply.^d	Treatment via phone/via text messages/via chat//via videoconference (e.g., Skype, confrere, etc.)/outdoors/other/no
Have you received sufficient treatment during the corona outbreak?	No/yes/uncertain
Has the quality of treatment now changed compared to before the corona outbreak?^d	Not applicable/worse/no change/better
During the corona outbreak, did you refrain from contacting mental health services with issues you normally would have sought help for?	No/yes
Did you call help lines during the corona outbreak (e.g., Red Cross, etc.)?	No/yes
Did you receive support from community services or charity organizations (e.g., support worker, Fountain house etc.) before the corona outbreak?	No/yes
Did this support change after the corona outbreak?^e	Paused/canceled/less/no change/more
Sleep
During the past 2 weeks, how many nights did you experience sleep problems (e.g., problems falling asleep, waking up during the night, or waking up too early)?	0–14 nights
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Less/no change/more
During the past 2 weeks, how many nights did you experience troubling nightmares?	0–14 nights
–Has this changed compared to before the corona outbreak?	Less/no change/more
Before the corona outbreak:
Before the corona outbreak: When did you usually go to bed on weekdays?	(Time chosen on a 24‐h clock)
Before the corona outbreak: When did you usually get up on weekdays?	(Time chosen on a 24‐h clock)
During the corona outbreak
During the corona outbreak: When have you usually gone to bed on weekdays?	(Time chosen on a 24‐h clock)
During the corona outbreak: When have you usually gotten up on weekdays?	(Time chosen on a 24‐h clock)
Use of substances
Did your use of substances change compared to before the corona outbreak? –Alcohol –Illicit substances (e.g., cannabis, heroin, and amphetamine)	No use/less use/no change/more use No use/less use/no change/more use
Medications
Did your use of medications change compared to before the corona outbreak? –Antipsychotics (e.g., Zyprexa, Leponex, Risperdal, Ablilify) –Mood stabilizers (e.g., Orfiril, Lamictal, Lithium) –Antidepressants (e.g., Cipralex, Remeron) –Anxiolytics (e.g., Sobril, Valium)	No use/less use/no change/more use No use/less use/no change/more use No use/less use/no change/more use No use/less use/no change/more use
Social life
Has the corona outbreak affected your social life?	Become better/no change/become worse
Did you experience any of the following and has it changed compared to before the corona outbreak? –Feeling isolated –Feeling outside of the community –Family conflicts	Not applicable/less than before/no change/more than before Not applicable/less than before/no change/more than before Not applicable/less than before/no change/more than before
Keeping updated
Which news channels do you use to keep updated about the corona outbreak? Public authorities Newspapers/online newspapers Television/radio Social media Blogs Friends/family	Not at all/a little/a lot Not at all/a little/a lot Not at all/a little/a lot Not at all/a little/a lot Not at all/a little/a lot Not at all/a little/a lot
Coping
Do you experience that you are coping with the situation during the corona outbreak? Personal economy How is your economy after the corona outbreak?	Not at all/a little/a lot A lot worse/a little worse/no change/a little better/a lot better

^{^a}

The questions about life satisfaction, meaning in life, social support, and positive feelings were taken from the Norwegian guideline list for measurement of wellbeing/quality of life (Nes et al., 2018), which is based on the OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well‐being (OECD, 2013) and Diener's Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2009).

^{^b}

Questions about symptoms of depression and anxiety from the Patient Health Questionnaire‐4 (Kroenke et al., 2009) were included in this section.

^{^c}

This question was only given to participants who had responded that they were in treatment on March 12.

^{^d}

This question was only given to participants who had responded that they were in treatment at the time of the survey.

^{^e}

This question was only given to participants who had responded that they had received support from community or charity organizations before the COVID‐19 outbreak.