Pandemic and Mental Health

Kshitiz Kumar

COVID-19, while commonly considered to have a milder course in terms of disease magnitude among youth, has a plethora of psychological, mental, physical, social, and cultural consequences. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical access to friends, peers, schoolmates, and relatives has been almost non-existent for the last year and a half, with many of these school curricular activities taking place online on a digital platform. Limited or no opportunity for outdoor games and socialization may have a much greater impact on mental health than perceived, resulting in increased boredom, anger, frustration and, as a result, vulnerability to mental stress.

Because of increased digital connections, 'emotional contagion,

' in which one person's distress and fear spread to another, may be common among the population. youth. Besides, the experience of quarantine restrictions during this COVID-19 pandemic also is another factor leading to mental stress. All these together have multifaceted impacts on children which may be psychological, mental, physical, social, and cultural. The effects of coronavirus are not just physical but they are also psychological in all age groups but more so among children. A recent study points toward the critical need to respond to the global mental health effects on children and adolescents at the global level due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a global call to action, hence, there is a need for equitable mental health care for all children across the world.

Relatively high levels of anxiety, stress, and depression having followed the COVID-19 stay-at-home order could lead to further psychological trauma, in addition to the mental health implications of the frothing pandemic itself. Teenagers, women, and caretakers are more stressed as a result of the pandemic. Their mental health issues cannot be ignored during and after the pandemic, and their health and well-being are currently a concern. In accordance with a recent report, frontline workers and children were among those most sensitive to mental health issues during the pandemic. The prevalence of mental disorders during the pandemic in the United States, particularly among adolescents, included depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, which was supported by other studies around the world that showed similar increases in depression and anxiety.

During this time, it is essential to fixate on scaling up mental health services and targeted cognitive processes to close the inequality gap, which may demand investment and training to be viable. It is critical to prioritize assessing the effects of policies enacted to counter the invisible pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents.