Internet and Psychiatry
  • Home
    • Editorials
    • Research news
    • Research papers
    • Interviews with eminent psychiatrists
    • Ten years ago
    • Fifteen years ago
  • Topics
    • Alcohol and Drug Abuse
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Biomedical Science
    • Compulsive gambling
    • Disaster Medicine
    • Education
    • General Medicine
      • Acupuncture
      • Physical medicine and Rehabilitation
    • Human Rights
    • Interviews with eminent psychiatrists
    • Mood Disorders
      • Bipolar Disorder
      • Depression
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder
    • Neurological Disorders
    • Other Psychiatric Disorders
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
    • Sexual Behavior
  • Books
    • Comorbidity of Depression and Alcohol Use Disorders
    • “Immigration and Mental Health” chapter abstracts
    • “Internet and Suicide” chapter abstracts
    • “Neurobiology of PTSD” chapter abstracts
    • “Suicidal Behavior in Alcohol…” chapter abstracts
    • “Suicide in the Military” chapter abstracts
    • “Terror and Suicide” chapter abstracts
    • “War and Suicide” chapter abstracts
  • Editors
    • Leo Sher, M.D.
    • Alexander Vilens, M.S.
  • Guests
    • Distinguished Guests
    • Our Contributors
  • Reflections
    • Poetry
    • Quotes

Editorials

Psychiatry and COVID-19

August 17, 2020

Keerthika Mathialagan, M.B.B.S., Steven Lippmann, M.D.

The COVID-19 pandemic has critical implications for mental health and personal well-being. Beyond the acute stress and anxiety aroused by this disease, the quarantine measures and economic shortages have increased depression, drug abuse, suicide, and domestic violence rates (1).

Stay-at-home measures cause harmful psychological repercussions among susceptible populations, for children, adults, and elderly people. Loneliness often becomes a problem. It becomes harder to access healthcare and even to maintain one’s housing, job, or childcare. For children, the extended social isolation, especially following school cancellations, are harmful to psychosocial growth and development. Quarantining results in increased psychiatric morbidity and mortality also for adults, particularly older and/or isolated ones, and those with pre-existing physical or psychological disabilities (2). People with psychiatric illness usually do not tolerate coronavirus stresses very well.

Interventions are available to curtail the psychiatric implications of coronavirus infections. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) offers plans to help children cope with stress by suggested daily routines, virtual platforms to maintain social connections, and engaging in recreational activities (3). Similar ideas apply to the emotional care of adults. Medical service teams should also implement individualised approaches to mental health concerns and interventions (4).

Physicians and other health care workers are at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides others being fearful of contact with them, they are also susceptible to contagion and their own emotional stress, with negative consequences to family, social, and professional life. Limited training and inexperience negotiating an epidemic heightens worries and worsens emotions such that it may lead to a residual post-traumatic stress disorder.

Help to manage the psychological stress of frontline healthcare workers includes to identify persons of infection risk, isolate or quarantining anyone who is sick, provide proper hygiene and protective apparel, offer peer-support, and keep collegial communication open. Clinicians should maintain prolonged awareness about the long-term psychiatric consequences of this pandemic to best recognize and curtail future psychosocial issues.

References

  1. Reger M, Stanley I, Joiner T. Suicide Mortality and Coronavirus Disease 2019—A Perfect Storm?. JAMA Psychiatry. April 10, 2020. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2764584. Accessed August 14, 2020.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S.  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html. Accessed August 14, 2020.
  3. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Supporting your child’s mental health as they return to school during COVID-19 https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/supporting-your-childs-mental-health-during-covid-19-school-return. Accessed August 14, 2020.
  4. Addressing Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak. Inter-Agency Standing Committee; 2020:1-14. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/technical-guidance/mental-health-and-covid-19. Accessed August 14, 2020.

Related Posts

Editorials /

Pregnancy and COVID-19

Editorials /

Physician distress and relief during the coronavirus pandemic

Editorials /

Challenges associated with patients refusing to eat in inpatient psychiatric setting

‹ The role of endogenous opioids and monoamine neurotransmitters in non-suicidal self-injury › Our coronavirus suicide epidemic

Editorials

  • Pregnancy and COVID-19
  • Physician distress and relief during the coronavirus pandemic
  • Challenges associated with patients refusing to eat in inpatient psychiatric setting
  • COVID-19 and domestic violence

Research Papers

  • Examination of depressive signs and symptoms among 803 University students in seven Universities and Colleges. Hungary, Romania, Serbia.
  • Examination of spirituality and the dimensions of spirituality among 803 students in seven different Universities. Hungary, Romania and Serbia.
  • Examination of depressive signs and symptoms among 932 students in eight different secondary schools in Hungary
  • Examination of psychological immune system among 932 students in eight different secondary schools in Hungary

Research News

  • Depression and cardiometabolic health: a longitudinal study
  • Testosterone levels in combat veterans with or without a history of suicide attempt
  • Elevated risk of COVID-19 death in patients with psychiatric disorders
  • Neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of the COVID-19 disease

Latest News

  • Leading world experts on suicide. Expertscape, December 2020
  • 9-8-8 will be the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline
  • Leading world experts on suicide. Expertscape, September 2020
  • Leading world experts on suicide. Expertscape, July 2020

Interviews with eminent psychiatrists

  • Interview with Professor Shih-Ku Lin
  • Interview with Professor Masahito Fushimi
  • Interview with Professor Maurizio Pompili
  • Interview with Professor Marco Sarchiapone

Ten Years Ago

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder and the Neuroevolutionary Time-depth Principle
  • The role of endogenous opioids and monoamine neurotransmitters in non-suicidal self-injury
  • The 2003 SARS outbreak and suicide among older adults
  • Objections to suicide among mood disordered patients with co-occurring alcohol use disorders

Back to Top

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Copyright © 2021 AVCalc LLC. All rights reserved worldwide.