The Pandemic & Your Mental Health

COVID-19 is not just a pandemic but a consistent trial method and challenge to check the end level of humanity, survival, resilience, courage and our prosocial behavior towards the consequences of a pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic people got anxious, fearful, depressed and uncertain about their health. There was a persistent fear of survival, loss of jobs, death of loved ones, isolation and prolonged lockdown. Many started abrupt migrations from affected areas to supposedly safe places without knowing that they might be carriers themselves. All of these factors severely affected people’s wellbeing.

History shows different pandemics have always had an effect not just on physical health but on mental health as well . SARS and MERS are examples of other prominent pandemics that had terrible impact on mental health of people.

Research suggests that people, who are sociable struggled a lot during the pandemic. Three (3) out of every four (4) people were victims of loneliness and had severe symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety disorder and insomnia. The increasing rate of new cases led to suicidal ideation, hyper vigilance, increased paranoia, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Social withdrawal becomes a risk factor.

• General increase in anxiety and panic attacks. Most people have become concerned about their health, with many instances of hypochondria.
• People suffering different medical conditions (high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes or lung disease ) are more prone to anxiety and fear due to the over exaggerated vulnerability of infection. They also became very reserved.
• Frontline healthcare workers were found very stressed, traumatized, experienced burnout and suffered certain psychiatric disorders due to witnessing deaths in hospitals, risk of exposure to infection, extended work shifts, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and higher work load.
• Essential service providers (grocery store clerks, food servers, bus drivers, municipality workers, pharmacies) are similarly confronted daily with the disturbing reality that they are regularly exposed to a potentially infected individual and therefore are at risk of spreading the virus to their own families. Incidents of burnout, increased anxiety, depression and insomnia are reported clearly by them.
• With the lockdown and a high rate of employment for varying reasons (mostly due to the economic impact of the pandemic), there were more people at home and this led to symptoms of loneliness, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and paranoia.

The pandemic may not be over but the worst appears to be behind us in Philadelphia. The effects on mental health however still linger. As a highly recognized mental health facility, we offer a range of services to help anyone dealing with these effects. Our therapists and dedicated staff are ready to help with depression diagnosis and treatment, individual and group therapy and stress management. Schedule a complimentary consultation with us today to get started. For more information on our services please call us at 484-373-2710 or contact us online.