TORONTO -- Amid a second wave that is spurring increased restrictions across the country, many are concerned about the effect more lockdowns could have on the Canadian psyche.

Steve Joordens, a psychology professor from the University of Toronto, told CTV News Channel that on one hand, a second lockdown could be less scary than the first one was -- but on the other, it could create a sense of helplessness among Canadians who aren’t seeing their actions have any positive effect on the country’s COVID-19 numbers.

The realization that another lockdown could be just around the corner is a “gut punch” for many, Joordens said.

“There’s really two sides of us as human beings. There’s the rational side and there’s the emotional side,” he said. “The rational side knew that this could happen. We were told long ago that there could be a second wave, we could go all the way back to lockdown.

“We kind of know it up here,” he explained, tapping his forehead. “But now we’re starting to feel it.”

The pandemic has caused stress and anxiety for millions, exacerbating mental health struggles across the country for a variety of reasons, ranging from fear of the virus itself, to an inability to grieve properly for loved ones who may have passed, to loneliness and isolation caused by lockdown measures.

Child psychologist Dr. Tali Shenfield said pandemic fatigue and hopelessness are affecting children and adolescents as much as or even more than adults.

She added: “At our psychology centre, we treat hundreds of children and we are seeing a concerning increase in childhood depression and suicidality as well as gaming addiction. Many young kids cannot even remember what their lives were like before the pandemic.

"Parents must make an effort to spend quality time together with their kids, doing arts and crafts, going outside, or playing games. They should also try to find a way to engage kids in some active play, as children are moving much less during the lockdown."

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), those who have reported feeling depressed during COVID-19 has increased recently, at 21 per cent in a September survey compared to 18 per cent in a July one. Those who experienced moderate to severe anxiety also went up in September.

Joordens said that facing another lockdown “feels tough, and it certainly can trigger some issues that become challenges for a lot of us.”

Nearly 5,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported across Canada on Thursday, as Manitoba’s Code Red restrictions came into effect. In the province, social contact is now reduced to those within your household, and those from the southern part of the province are not allowed to travel to communities in the north, with many non-essential businesses shuttered.

In Toronto, Ont., the city is entering its own “red” zone on Saturday, with indoor dining at restaurants and bars set to remain closed until at least Dec 12. The city has a case positivity rate of 4.8 per cent as of Thursday, according to the City’s website, far higher than the goal of less than 3 per cent.

In Quebec, Premier Francois Legault said Thursday that they were considering closing schools as the province continues to deal with rising cases, with an average of 1,262 new cases every day over the past week.

With restrictions tightening, how are Canadians likely to react?

“There’s kind of a good and a bad to this,” Joordens said. “The good is: it’s familiar now.”

The first time Canadians entered into strict lockdowns in the spring, it was a situation that was extremely new and frightening, he pointed out. Now, we know what to expect and may have learned some coping strategies, which can take away some of the anxiety.

“We all, I think, have a sense that this will end,” he said, pointing out that vaccine development is further along now, and we can see that progress. “We’re getting better at managing it.”

However, having to go back to a lockdown situation after having things open up can make many feel hopeless.

“There’s an added complication of something that we call ‘potential learned helplessness’ which is the sense that — you know, we all felt like we dug in and we did what we had to do, and we kind of had things looking like they were going in the right direction, but then when they start to reverse, we start to feel like, ‘Wow, no matter what we do, it’s not going to matter,’ that this thing is bigger than us to some extent,” Joordens said.

“And that’s a bit of a dangerous feeling because […] it’s sometimes associated with more depressive mind states.”

He said that while anxiety is difficult to deal with, depression “is downright scary.”

“I do think we need to be on the watch for that,” Joordens said. “People need to learn what the signs of depression are in yourself and in your family members, and be ready pretty quickly to kind of jump on and reach out for professional help, should you really see some depression settling in.”

As the days get colder, many experts are concerned that seasonal affective disorder could make pandemic mental health even worse. Joordens said that with that in mind, we might need to “embrace our Canadianism” and try to remain very active in the winter.

“Canadians are supposed to be winter-friendly, I think we need to get winter friendly,” he said. “We need to find ways of being outdoors, of enjoying the sunshine.”

He mentioned that recent research has shown that there may be a connection between vitamin D deficiencies and COVID-19 -- researchers in Spain found 82 per cent of around 200 COVID-19 patients at a hospital were vitamin D deficient -- making sunlight important potentially for more than just mental health.

“See the sun as medicine, and let’s get out on skating rinks,” he said.

Being bundled up outside, masks and all, and engaging in winter activities while distancing could be a good way to keep spirits up and to stay safe, he said.

“There’s a lot of things we can do in a quite safe way in the winter months.”