Social Distancing and Mental Health: Action towards Coronanxiety and Fear

Dr Rutu Trivedi of the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar (IIPHG), writes about action towards 'coronanxiety' and fear. She also elaborated some of the ways to manage despair and increased health anxiety in the times of COVID-19 pandemic.

Hyderabad: The novel coronavirus, is a universal pandemic. Health experts are working to alleviate the impact the disease that will have on our population, vulnerable communities, and the healthcare areas as a whole.

Procedures for keeping the community safe and healthy the government is expecting everyone to do their part— with social distancing, quarantine or isolation measures in an effort to slow disease’s spread 1 .

The COVID-19 pandemic is placing significant stress, on the emergency response and health worker working courageously on the frontline helping the community to deal with infections. People are also experiencing a wide range of thoughts, feelings and reactions.

Government mandate of spending weeks at home with limited resources, stimulation and social contact can take a ring on mental health. Health experts say that any type of social isolation, whether it is self- imposed or medically mandated is a stressful situation and creates a traumatic experience in both adult and children.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the nation have issued some form of social distancing mandate to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

All school’s systems, entertainment sectors, community organizations have temporarily locked down.

In one of interview USA Frontier Health’s Senior Vice President of Children’s Services Tim Perry said: “Being quarantined has an effect on your mental health through your loss of autonomy, competency and disconnectedness, it leaves people feeling out of control of the situation, isolated and cut off from the rest of the world and it leads to problems like poor sleep, poor concentration, trauma experiences, depression, people often feel trapped, cut off from friends and peers and feeling like they’re being punished, even though it may be for their own well-being.”

Due to social distancing, quarantine or isolation, loneliness among people have increased. It is also observed that COVID-19 disproportionately affect the elderly population.

In India, the elderly patient population is increasing and their psychological problems are on a rise. Lonely people suffer from more depressive symptoms, as they have than been reported to be less happy, less satisfied and more pessimistic.

Loneliness and depression share common symptoms like helplessness and pain. In a study done by Singh A et al., of 55 elder persons in the age group of 60-80 in Delhi (India) based regions (living in various housing societies), found out an increase in the level of depression with an increase in the level of loneliness.

Loneliness is recognised as a contributing, maintaining and poor prognostic factor in the development of alcohol abuse. The reasons attributed to this are due to lack of social support, and distinct perceptions of community pressure.

Loneliness is not only a source of acute stress but also chronic stress. Recently, there has been extensive research on psychosocial effects of stress on neuroendocrine and immune systems. Lonely traits and concomitant physiological processes.

Read:Coronavirus and the plight of the poor in India

Loneliness has been associated with impaired cellular immunity, as reflected by lower natural killer (NK) cell activity and higher antibody titters.

In addition, loneliness among middle-aged adults has been found associated with a smaller increase in NK cell numbers, in response to acute stress associated with various tasks 7.

Research on suicide has revealed that there is a strong association between suicide ideation, Para suicide and loneliness. The prevalence of suicide ideation and Para suicide rises with the degree of loneliness.

The various personality disorders associated with loneliness include borderline personality disorder and schizoid personality disorder. Intolerance of aloneness is considered a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Loneliness also potentiates other symptoms associated with BPD. Loneliness related to chronic stress can cause low- grade peripheral inflammation.

The low- grade peripheral inflammation, in turn, has been linked to inflammatory diseases. Inflammatory diseases include diabetes, autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and cardiovascular diseases like coronary heart disease, hypertension (HTN)& total peripheral resistance (TPR).

TPR is the primary determinant which suggests that loneliness- related elevations in TPR may lead to higher blood pressure. Loneliness is one of the main indicators of social well-being. Loneliness can lead to various psychiatric disorders and various physical disorders.

Our situation of the general uncertainty because of the virus and state of the world is seemed to be fear and anxiety-provoking, for younger generations who may have never encountered a global.

It is perceived that change without notice is going to be distressing. Abrupt social isolation may negatively impact some people’s mental health, said Dr Samantha Meltzer-Brody, chairperson of the Department of Psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine.

People need to be self-aware and practice self-care. They should practice ways of managing their anxiety and to reduce the psychological risks of quarantine and isolation. We frequently hear of important measures to take: stay at home, self-isolate, and practice proper hand-washing techniques, but rarer reports on ways to cope with negative emotions. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.

Some of the ways to manage despair increased health anxiety

1. Facts Specific- Due to continuous exposure to news related only to coronavirus, feelings of worry and anxiety is at peak. It will be always helpful to stay informed with the latest health innovation and precautions avoiding misconceptions.

2. Stop assumptions Stop Anxiety – Person suffering from cold, cough or fever not necessarily have coronavirus. If in doubt call your doctor.

3. Use Social Media leverage- All around people are facing the same glitches also are aware of the pandemic, you are not alone. Stay connected to family and friends with distance through FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, and Facebook and calls.

4. It’s time to unwind - Take care of physical and mental health by following precautionary measures listed by government and health institute, also engaging yourself in relaxing, mediating & developing healthy eating habits.

5. Keep up with regular routine – Government has taken safety measures by closing school colleges, malls and theatres so what! Schedule your activities or do something that helps you to connect to yourself. Some fun activities or recreating long lost hobbies. This will keep you calm.

6. Stop Worry Channels- Limit exposure to news. Repeatedly hearing about pandemic can be upsetting.

7. Relying on pets for emotional support is another way to stay connected until the risks of transmission between humans and animals are better understood.

8. Share & Care - Adopt stress-relieving methods by sharing upsetting thoughts this will help you to maintain a sense of normalcy. Seek additional professional mental health support in case anxiety is out of control.