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Are there mental sequelae from COVID-19?

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The psychological impact of clinically significant cases of COVID-19 (i.e., those cases in which the person experiences symptoms that are important enough to conclude that you have an illness, because your quality of life is affected damaged) is one of the most unknown aspects of the pandemic, because the focus tends to be on the physical alterations produced by this pathology.

However, the studies carried out on this subject show some worrying data. Let's see, then, what is known about the mental sequelae caused by the COVID-19 disease.

  • Related article: "The 16 most common mental disorders"

Are there psychological sequelae from the COVID-19 disease?

A study carried out by researchers at the San Rafael Hospital in Milan based on the follow-up of 402 adult patients who had passed COVID-19 has made it possible to verify that more than half of them (55%) suffered psychological sequelae. Thus, 42% developed a problem of anxiety, 40% went through a stage of insomnia, 28% suffered a post-traumatic stress disorder, 31% developed depression, and 20% presented symptoms attributable to the

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Along the same lines, another study based on a meta-analysis of more than 70 investigations carried out in countries around the world showed that in the acute phase of patients treated in hospital for COVID-19 symptoms such as depressed mood (34%), anxiety (35%), memory problems (34.1%) and insomnia (41%) were relatively common. On the other hand, in the stage after suffering from COVID-19, it was also relatively common to suffer from a disorder. psychological, such as anxiety disorders (14.8%), depression (14.9%), insomnia (12.1%), memory problems (18.9%), and trauma (32.2%).

As we can see, the most common disorders are both anxiety and depression, the two groups of most common psychopathologies in the general population (not only in people with COVID-19) such as others associated with fear and the inability to get out of mental loops, such as OCD or insomnia; and they also seem to highlight memory alterations, something that usually occurs in situations of great stress.

Psychological effects of COVID
  • You may be interested: "Rumination: The Annoying Vicious Circle of Thinking"

Causes

What is the cause of these alterations? Some evidence from previous studies shows that several very important psychological disorders, such as depression, could have among their causes The main inflammatory processes that affect the body for a relatively long period, as well as the alterations that affect the immune: the body enters a state of "alert" in which the biological functions associated with a good mental state would be unattended in order to mitigate other more immediate problems.

However, we cannot forget that the way in which patients with COVID-19 perceive and interpret things and those who have gone through this disease also has a lot to do with mental health and can lead to problems psychological.

A) Yes, poorly managing the fear of the experience of being hospitalized or being quarantined at home, for example, can fuel the onset of anxiety disorders and insomnia, and lifestyle little active life and linked to social isolation is a breeding ground for the appearance of depression; In the same way, the fact of having gone through a phase in which one fears for one's own life or for the of loved ones (due to the possibility of contagion) can also lead to trauma psychological.

And of course, poor management of fear of contagion or worsening of the disease can cause symptoms to skyrocket. of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (for example, leading the person to wash their hands constantly and in increasingly more complex).

Definitely, COVID-19 disease can produce psychological sequelae both for the way in which the person manages what happens to him and the way in which he is attended by health or relatives, such as possible triggers of an organic nature that alter the functioning of your body. In other words, in many aspects, psychological problems during and after COVID-19 do not have to be caused by disease itself, but can be the product of psychological variables linked to the way in which the person experiences that disease. situation. And that means that there is a certain margin of maneuver to ensure mental health through carrying out certain habits, exercises to modulate emotions and anxiety, routines to apply in relationships personal etc

A) Yes, help people manage anxiety and distress, give them support in times of illness so that they are not trapped in the vicious circle of rumination, give them psychologically healthy lifestyle guidelines and habits and preventing them from remaining for several weeks in a state of total social isolation is important to prevent and mitigate the symptoms of the most common mental disorders. frequent.

  • Related article: "Mental health: definition and characteristics according to psychology"

Are you looking for professional psychological assistance?

If you are looking for psychology services, contact me.

My name is Thomas Saint Cecilia and I am a psychologist specializing in the cognitive-behavioral model. I attend to adults and adolescents, and I also work collaborating with companies, offering both face-to-face sessions in my office in Madrid, and online via video call.

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