PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COVID-19:
Laura de Frutos [MSc Bio] What The current public health emergency, which includes social distancing, mobility restrictions and quarantine, affects the health, economy, safety and well-being of both society and individuals, among many other issues. These consequences may translate into emotional reactions, unhealthy behaviours and noncompliance with public health directives. [1] Some of the main psychological effects are frustration, trouble socializing, trouble sleeping, fear of contagion, fear of a second quarantine and its consequences, uncertainty, increase in bad habits and abuse of toxic substances and work-life balance problems. [2] The globally-evident mental health problems, however, are not all directly due to COVID-19. In some cases there is severe anxiety about being infected, obsession with prevention behaviours, and possible neuropsychiatric sequelae to the infection itself. [4] Nevertheless, in “conventional” natural disasters, technological accidents and intentional acts of mass destruction, a primary concern is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arising from exposure to trauma. Medical
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conditions from natural causes such as life-threatening viral infection do not meet the current criteria for trauma required for a diagnosis of PTSD, but other psychopathology, such as depressive and anxiety disorders, may ensue because of the psychological effects mentioned above. [1] Why These psychological effects come from the impotence for the situation, not being able to share time with ill family members, physical distancing, not knowing how to combine work and taking care of children, extended workload, loss of employment, inability to carry out the plans that were planned and being forced to break routines. [2] Moreover, lack of resilience and strength may make these effects more severe. Who Some groups may be more vulnerable than others to the psychosocial effects of pandemics. In particular, people who contract the disease, those at heightened risk for it (including the elderly, people with compromised immune function and those living or receiving care
