Causes of Mental Health Concerns During Corona Virus Pandemic|Impact of Corona Virus on Mental Health

The corona virus started to affect people from December 2019. The impact of the corona virus has turned out to be fatal for many. Life, being one of the most threatened components in the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health issues like hypochondriasis and stress started piling over. Besides physical ailments, mental health became a major turn-off because of the pandemic.⁽¹⁾

Things like worry, fear, anxiety, sadness and depression became part and parcel of our lives because of the foray of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Not only the loss people have gone through, but it also resulted in mental agony for everyone.^{(1, 2)}

However, the unpredictability of the situation broke down after consequent research and ample vaccine supply by the authority. Though in a way, a lot of people fought against the coronavirus bravely, there were some mental constraints that it came along with it. Before understanding the impact of corona virus on the mental health, let us first look at the causes of the mental health issues.

A lot of reasons together contributed to poor mental health and related issues. Some of the prominent reasons include the following:^{(2, 3)}

• Restrictions from Meeting People: As the corona virus infection emerged and spread in different parts of the world, WHO announced it a pandemic situation for the world. There was complete lockdown in every country. Movements of people were restricted to the four walls of the houses, and this strongly affected the mental health. People were debarred from physically meeting their family, friends, colleagues, etc., which in the long run severely affected the mental health.⁽²⁾
• Temporary Unemployment as a Reason for Mental Health Concern: The rate of unemployment was at a spike during the lockdown. Millions of people lost their jobs. With increase in the number of cases, the restrictions were imposed drastically, and that affected several industries.⁽³⁾ The most common were the relocation industry, logistics company, and other types of goods and services marketing. As this unemployment lasted for some time, and the economy was in deep slumber, eventually mental health issues became prominent.
• Dependency on the “Online Mode”: Be it schools, tuitions, professions, or workshops, everything was promulgated at a distant place with the help of technology. It is also true that the online mode somehow spoiled the culture of physically conducting things, which also contributed to mental health issues.

Coronavirus and the accompanying circumstances have shown multiple impacts on our mental health which are as follows:^{(1, 2, 4)}

• Change in daily routine has changed the lifestyle leading to feelings of anxiety and stress. Some have even gone into depression.
• Some people feel it hard to concentrate on anything that is further aggravating their stress and anxiety.
• Changes in eating patterns and diets have led to change in appetite.
• Feeling of anger, sadness, loneliness, and fear has been noticed by many people especially those habituated to intense outdoor activities. A lot of people have experienced intense fears of losing their loved ones due to corona virus infection.
• Many people have come up with complaints of nightmares and insomnia.
• There is a drastic increase in people experiencing anxiety disorders like panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorders, generalized anxiety disorders etc.
• Some people with already existing mental health issues have experienced a relapse.

Poor mental health, unlike every problem, requires special attention and understanding of certain things related to mental health. One should understand that the SARS-II has not only done physical damage to the world but has also brought in a lot of mental health problems.⁽⁴⁾ It has contributed to hypochondriasis, a mental disorder that makes you feel diseased even if you barely have the disease.

However, no matter how diverse and complex the problem, the solutions mentioned below are quite effective.

• Talking it Out: It might seem a bit conventional to some, but saying it out in a single go would work in your favour. All the constant erratic thoughts that cross your mind throughout the day, you can just let that out by saying it to someone, a friend or a family member with whom you are comfortable with.⁽²⁾
• Referring to a Counsellor: A counsellor or a therapist is a person who can help you with expressing your thoughts and emotions. If you are caught up in a loop of overthinking, and you feel overstressed, take out a step and meet a counsellor.^{(2, 3)} You will also learn different coping strategies to help deal with these stressful situations and also grieving over any losses.
• Reduce the Frequency of Listening to Corona Virus related News: The best way to tackle negative news is to reduce the amount of news you watch. Instead, spend some time with your closed ones or develop a hobby. You won’t regret it at any cost.⁽¹⁾

As a wise individual has said, “bravery lies in identifying and breaking down the problem, rather than whining on it.” You’re not alone, you’re probably facing the same thing that everyone else is going through during the corona virus pandemic. All you need is to focus on the problem and find your solution.

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