Research Paper / Mental health and Covid 19

Mental health and Covid 19

AMU

29 May 2021

Mental health and Covid 19

1.0 Introduction

We are in amid COVID 19 that is already overwhelming the healthcare sector. It has brought with it uncertainty, altered daily routines, financial difficulties and social isolation (Rajkumar, 2020). This phenomenon has led to short term as well as long term psychosocial and mental health implications.

Thesis: amid the pandemic people are living with the worry of their loved ones, their financial health, whether people will lose their jobs and what the future brings. This makes people to experience anxiety, fear, stress, sadness and loneliness which in turn make mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression, to worsen.

Section 2. Main points

a. increased social isolation

With the pandemic, The CDC created a social distancing policy with guidelines to be implemented although the United States. This is meant to help in protecting people from contracting COVID-19 (Son, et al., 2020). people are advised to work from home and to avoid contact so that the infection chain can be broken. Social isolation can negatively affect the mental health of the people as well as their physical health. Social isolation and loneliness are associated with cognitive decline, poor sleep quality, and depression.

b. financial problems

This pandemic has brought a severe economic shock (Otu, Charles, & Yaya, 2020). A lot of people lost their jobs and others are required to work from home with pay cuts. Typically, mental health problems and financial difficulties can create a spiraling vicious circle where one compounds the other. Once financial problems have taken root then the effects on mental health become even more complex.

c. stigmatization

People who have contracted this disease and quarantined then released to the society have been experiencing stigmatization. This stigmatization leads to the development of mixed emotions to these people. Higher levels of exposure to stigmatization are associated with higher levels of depression.

Section 3. conclusion

The COVID 19 pandemic has brought a lot of changes on how people are living their lives. There is a clear connection between the pandemic and the increased rate of mental health problems that are witnessed today.

References

Son, C., Hegde, S., Smith, A., Wang, X., & Sasangohar, F. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on college students’ mental health in the United States: Interview survey study. Journal of medical internet research, 22(9), e21279. retrieved from: Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study (nih.gov)

Rajkumar, R. P. (2020). COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature. Asian journal of psychiatry, 52, 102066. retrieved from: COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature - ScienceDirect

Otu, A., Charles, C. H., & Yaya, S. (2020). Mental health and psychosocial well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: The invisible elephant in the room. International journal of mental health systems, 14, 1-5. retrieved from: Mental health and psychosocial well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: the invisible elephant in the room | International Journal of Mental Health Systems | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)