The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

Márcia Filipa Soares Cavaleiro

Graduated with a Postgraduate Degree in Physical Therapy from Escola Superior de Saúde do Porto, Portugal

Dr. Márcia Filipa Soares Cavaleiro, Graduated with a Postgraduate Degree in Physical Therapy from Escola Superior de Saúde do Porto, Portugal.

Keywords: Mental Health; Pandemic; COVID-19; Social Isolation

Abstract

In nearly two years, COVID-19 has spread across the world, creating a global pandemic situation. This pandemic has caused profound changes in the way we live, both individually and as a community. These changes, together with the fear and uncertainty of being infected, the loss of employment or income due to the instability and unpredictability of the disease’s evolution, are classified as the main risk factors for the mental health of the general population, namely, for problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and burnout. In the absence of effective pharmacological interventions against COVID-19, many governments have implemented confinements, some of them prophylactic, and other social isolation measures, which it has contributed to the deterioration of mental health. From Chinese tourist’s victims of judgments and prejudice to people previously diagnosed with psychological pathologies, to children, to health professionals, to animals to the elderly; it is important to find strategies that help each individual and teach them how to cope with the situation we face. Not only is it important to make a conscious survey of the demographic distribution in each city along with the economic situation of each country, as well as its conditions, but it is also even more important to ensure that the information that circulates and reaches the population is correct, true and without any kind of misrepresentation. Even though this pandemic originated from a virus, it can be described as a mental health pandemic and emphasizes the importance of making all care related to mental health classified as primary and with equal access. There has been a notable creation and increase of mental health support service lines, but there is still a great stigma worldwide. For this reason, it is necessary to promote and include in the education of adults and children, and make people understand that taking care of mental health is just as important as taking care of their heart, food, respiratory, digestive or even gynaecological tracts, because without it our clarity and sanity are not clear, and we lose the ability to make good decisions.

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