The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), i.e., COVID -19, resulted in a complete shut-down of all Public and private places, including schools, colleges, offices, restaurants, markets, travel, and tourism. People are forced to live in their houses among the four walls for the longest time.
This stringent protocol of shelter-in-place announced by the government with absolute zero social contact for months resulted in isolation and separation of people from friends, family, and colleagues, causing a severe impact on people’s mental health. The most affected included young children or students, women, and those already suffering from mental health diseases.
Background
Coronavirus has become a global threat to public health with its constant effect on personal and social lives. After first being declared an epidemic and then a pandemic, soon the impact was such that it was declared a world public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). Especially in the first wave of Covid, which started in March 2020, the government imposed strict lockdown across India with restrictions over social gatherings, public interactions, and business operations. International and national state borders were sealed to prevent the exchange of people and the spread of the disease.
Norms of social distancing and wearing masks were suggested to break the infection cycle. As the number of cases went a little on the deficit side, the second wave emerged even more substantial soon.
Lockdown was reimposed in stages as patients rose again, and the number of deaths increased like never before. The second complete lockdown started in the middle of December 2020 and remained in place until March 2021, when the restrictions began to ease.
The severity of the impact on psychological health
Apart from the physical implications, many people started to experience mental trauma in the forms of anxiety, fear, depression, denial, anger outburst, post-traumatic stress disorder, and stigma. People faced difficulties cutting ties and communications with relatives and peers and therefore had a tough time coping with change and adjusting to solitude.
Although quarantine and home isolation was the only way to reduce the spread of the very contagious virus and reduce the infections, it sure reduced the access to social support systems and increased mental issues of severe kinds, including thoughts of suicide and substance use.
Continuous long hours of self-isolation triggered the feeling of loneliness and disrupted people’s regular working routine, which in turn caused emotional and behavioral manifestations. Rapid mood swings and boredom were an add on which was another outcome of quarantine.
Children of all age groups were significantly affected. Toddlers and little children were deprived of going out of the house and experiencing the joy of playing in parks and attending kindergarten. In contrast, youngsters and adolescents appeared frustrated while sitting at home and attending classes online through the virtual model.
The pandemic took a significant toll on the mental health of adults, too, in powerful ways. The era of Work From Home (WFH) was introduced that caused the employers to sit for long durations before the screen in their houses which drained them physically and mentally.
Women suffered immense mental disorders due to increasing domestic violence. Panic attacks, physical torture, and fear affected the mental balance of women to a great extent. There was a sudden increase in domestic violence cases recorded during the lockdown.
Though there were significant improvements in the familial ties and bonds between family members who earlier could not make time to be with their family members were now enjoying cooking together, playing in-house games over video calls with relatives and friends.
The growing fear of the recently emerged Covid variant ‘Omicron’ has left several people sleepless, especially those already under mental stress from the two earlier pandemic waves and those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and anxiety.
The fear is experienced across age groups, including parents, teachers, traders, workers, etc. While human life limps back to normal after 18-20 months of job losses, disrupted school education, and health emergencies in the Covid-induced lockdowns, it is feared that to deal with yet another wave of covid would be challenging.
What does the future hold?
Since there is no end to this calamity visible shortly, the population has to learn to live with it most carefully and safely and follow the CAB (appropriate covid behaviors) strictly. All the possible measures such as engagement and participation of the Public in controlling the disease, strict implementation of COVID appropriate behaviors (social distancing, use of face masks, and hand sanitation), mini lockdowns, night curfews, micro containments, etc. must be implemented and observed by the Public.
Coronavirus is, without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges faced by the world in terms of health and has defined global health crises since its emergence.
