Written Assignment: Unintended mental health impacts of lockdown as a form of disease control

UNINTENDED MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF LOCKDOWN 2

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Unintended Mental Health Impacts of Lockdown

Introduction

Lockdown is among the most significant public measures that were put in place as a way of controlling the Covid 19 pandemic. It is a social isolation restriction that helps prevent the disease from spreading from one person to another. The increase of the virus led to the extension of the lockdown period to protect people from contracting the disease. On the other hand, there has been an increase in the issues that concerns well-being and mental health impacts of lockdown among various individuals like young people, adults and children (Basu et al.,2020). Unplanned impacts of lockdown on mental health affected people in multiple areas. For instance, it directly influences children's and young individuals' mental health and wellbeing. In such a case, lockdown led to increased chances of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)symptoms among children under self-quarantine. At the same time, it led to rising in the level of worry, anxiety and distress. That was due to t presence of loneliness and concerns about matters that concern school among children and the young ones.

Additionally, there have also been mental health impacts within the family context. The pandemic caused some has implications for the mental health and well-being of the parents and in various careers points. Lockdown affected families where the parents are the significant workers and younger. They have mental health issues since the condition cannot allow them to perform their duties as needed due to lockdown. Moreover, the covid 19 lockdown also impacted education, leading to mental issues among the learners. That is because the children and young people experience worries and anxieties related to matters that concern their school when they are likely to resume their education and issues that concern their future. The pandemic affected different individuals worldwide, ranging from children to young people and adults. It involved a large number of populations worldwide.

Public Health Implications

Lockdown is one of the suitable ways of controlling the covid 19 pandemic had various effects on public health, both mentally and physically. It was implemented globally as a strategic way of preventing the pandemic from spreading since the disease could apply at a significantly faster rate. One of the implications is that, during the lockdown period, there was no movement from one place to another; hence many people could not go to work. That means that there was either no or little income in several families. Therefore, the situation caused a lot of stress and mental distress, especially to the single parents who found it hard to take care of their children as before hence a change in their living standards. Besides, lockdown also affected the vulnerable ones in society, such as the elderly and individuals with a disability. Most of them went through a lot of traumata during the lockdown period. For instance, it was complicated for the elderly even to access health facilities to get drugs during that time since there was no movement. Such a situation made such people go through mental torture; hence their lives deteriorated. Again, during the lockdown, the vulnerable ones in the society could not afford enough food to sustain themselves, which even made them grow weaker, leading to poor health and the situation also caused death.

Moreover, during the lockdown period, both parents and children who were quarantined passed through post-traumatic stress disorder. Young people have also been negatively affected by the imposed lockdown restrictions on their mental health. According to research, over one thousand young careers in the Australia are overwhelmed and stressed since they have suffered from worsened mental health during the loneliness caused by the lockdown(Oswald et al., 2021).

Historical Context

The topic of unintended mental health effects of lockdown to control the disease fits in the public health context. That is because the topic focuses on one of the best ways of preventing the diseases from spreading from one person to another since it is a dangerous and killer disease (Thakur, Kumar, & Sharma, 2020). On the other hand, imposing a lockdown was one way of protecting and promoting the health and well being of people in the country, which is in the context of public health. Without the lockdown, people could still be traveling or moving from one place to another, which seems to be very dangerous as far as their health is concerned since it could cause the disease to spread at a very high rate hence causing the deaths of several people. For example, during the Lunar new year strict restrictions were imposed on travelers to migrate from one province to another in china to stop transmission of the disease (Aleta et al., 2020). Additionally, the topic fits in the context of public health. One of the ways that led to the spread of the disease was through shaking hands, among others. Therefore, imposing restrictions such as lockdown minimized the rate individuals could meet to pass the disease, for instance, at places of work where people share several items such as pens, books, and others who worked in the offices. Therefore, the lockdown was a way of promoting sanitation and personal hygiene to prevent the disease.

Future Context

In the future, it is essential to ensure that the individuals who are most affected mentally with the restrictions put in place to control the pandemic, such as a lockdown. For instance, there is a need for the government to ensure that there are enough funds put in place in case such emergencies arise. That will help ensure that various families are supported; hence that is a way of preventing them from any mental issue that may affect them Health wise. Additionally, there is a need to ensure that there is online education as that will be so helpful towards the health of children when the schools are closed during the pandemic. That is because, during the lockdown, children and young people do not go to school; hence they go through a lot of anxiety and stress about when they are likely to go back to school and get worried about the future(Lee, 2020). Therefore, when they get engaged with learning online while at home, that will be a way of helping their public health since they will not go through any trauma when they are under quarantine. On the other hand, the vulnerable ones in society should be well taken care of in the future. For instance, such people should be in one place to ensure that they get suitable medication and food to maintain their health during the lockdown.

References

· Aleta, A., Hu, Q., Ye, J., Ji, P. and Moreno, Y., 2020. A data-driven assessment of early travel restrictions related to the spreading of the novel COVID-19 within mainland China. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 139, p.110068.

· Basu, S., Karmakar, A., Bidhan, V., Kumar, H., Brar, K., Pandit, M., & Latha, N. (2020). Impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak: lifestyle changes and public health concerns in India. Int. J. Indian Psychol, 8, 1385-1411.

· Lee, J., 2020. Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(6), p.421.

· Oswald, T., Rumbold, A., Kedzior, S., Kohler, M. and Moore, V., 2021. Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), p.5630.

· Thakur, K., Kumar, N., & Sharma, N. (2020). Effect of the pandemic and lockdown on mental health of children. The Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 87(7), 552-552.