COVID-19: The effect on psyche, behavior of people during and after pandemic (part 1)

The pandemic has brought about loneliness which can be looked as a form of loss of freedom, loss or decrease in income, loss of job, employment and livelihoods, closure of all schools including the tertiary institutions, affectations of the four dimensions of health, the physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing health. There is an increase in domestic violence because spouses are spending more time with one another and finding faults with each other.

Even before the onset of the C19 pandemic, the degrees of mental health conditions such as generalised anxiety, depression, psychotic conditions such as bipolar illness and substance use; therefore it stands to reason that  there would have been some remarkable increase in the mental health issues during this pandemic lockdown period and definitely after the pandemic era.

The total lockdown will bring about mental health conditions in various forms of severity from mild, to moderate and severe conditions. These conditions include  Loneliness especially for the elderly, which has a high correlation for mental health disorders.

Anxiety, panic, phobia, which can manifest and restlessness, agitation, sweating, racing heart beats, sleep disturbances, chest constriction.

Symptoms of depression – low moods, fatigue, loss of interest in activities that hitherto brought joy and happiness, sleep disturbances, gloomy feelings, restlessness.

Suicidal thoughts, ideas, and outright suicide. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms – repeated temperature checks, washing of hands, and overtly use of hand sanitisers.

On societal angle, armed robberies, abductions for ransom will be on the increase and  Civil disobedience which we can observed in many cities in Nigeria.

Loss of jobs, high rates of unemployment as many people won’t even be able to pay salary, governors may also find it difficult to continue to pay salaries due to heavy drop in the price of crude oil, all these will lead to increased poverty and poverty has been highly linked to the development of various types of mental illness.

Nigerians that have been diagnosed as having mental health illnesses previously before the pandemic, most likely, their illnesses may get worse and may experience relapses of their mental health conditions. Due to the lockdown, they may not have access to their hospitals or attend their outpatients’ clinics. Since they could non access their hospitals and clinics, they may also not be able to get their prescription drugs. In this regard, these patients may continue to experience severity of their conditions

We also need to consider the middle-aged and elderly within the age bracket 60 years and above who already had been diagnosed  and also experiencing chronic physical illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancers who need regular monthly follow-up at their outpatients’ clinics but have not been able to access their clinics and hospitals due to the pandemic. They may also have difficulties in procuring their medications. This will also lead to diminished physical and mental wellbeing of the populace which can also exacerbates psychological distress and mental health disorders. The elderly above the age of 65 years need to be very careful because they have been found to be vulnerable and could easily contract the Covid-19 illness. We are advised to protect them and keep them safe in their rooms.

We all know one or two people that have died during this period, their family members and friends will also experience symptoms of grief such as – Denial, Anger, Depression, Acute stress disorders some day after the loss of the family member, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder may occur some week or months after the loss of the loved member of the family that can manifests as flash backs, re-living the traumatic experience, sleep problems, and avoidance of places where the death occurred.

Patients who had contracted the infection, treated at the isolation centre will face the issues of posttraumatic stress disorder, discrimination and social stigma and may also be avoided by family members and friends. We therefore need to carry out mass public education and information to prevent stigmatisation and discrimination of previously infected people.