Mental Issues during Lockdown

Novel Corona Virus Disease COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading and infecting people throughout the world. COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease and has affected a large population; the total number of deaths caused due to this virus has been increasing dramatically by the day. Majority of the countries have implemented nation wise lockdown to prevent the spreading of this virus. The media (both corporate and social) are broadcasting reports regarding the virus constantly across borders to convey all the information about the pandemic. These circumstances are creating major concern for people, leading to significant level of anxiety and stress.

In our country Nepal, it seems that people are dealing with the lockdown in two different ways; some are obeying the Government's instruction, while some are ignoring them. Lack of awareness often leads to an unconcerned attitude in people. It is no wonder that most of the people still do not understand the seriousness of this situation. The authority might have tried to inform and educate the people about the virus, its effects, and its means of spreading but the people still have not had the full idea and understanding. And because of this mis-understanding, several people from different states are running away from their quarantine. Even though borders are closed and strict measures are being taken to limit the spread of the virus, the problem continues.

On the other hand, the widespread use of social media is causing fake news and articles about coronavirus to spread as rapidly as the virus itself. People often rely on their friends, family, and social media for information, which in most of the cases are inaccurate and even hazardous. People are also adopting various uninvited lifestyle and eating habits under the influence of rumours. Blindly following the media without any source makes our mind dull, preventing us from thinking for ourselves, making our own decision, and differentiating between what is right and what is wrong. Most of our beliefs exist because we are told to believe them. Without questioning the logic behind those beliefs, we trust the ones who imposed them upon us and carry on believing them. The news and articles related to the pandemic, either real or fake, are often intense, which may unpleasantly affect the mental well-being of people. The physical effects of the virus are undoubtedly severe, but the global situation that it has created is also a direct cause of people becoming victims of serious mental health issues like fear, anxiety, depression, paranoia, and chronic loneliness. The fear and anxiety related to this situation also influence the behavior of people in the community.

Since the pandemic and subsequent lockdown was so sudden and came without prior warning, it created an environment of havoc, affecting a large population, which urged people to buy and stockpile things at home. Panic buying is often seen during pandemics, which leads to the scarcity of resources. Some media have been seen reporting about the shortage of essential daily resources, which has increased panic buying amongst the people. This is also a clear example of anxiety created by the lockdown.

Besides this, some people experience low levels of anxiety because they have better awareness and positive attitude towards this situation. They are utilizing their leisure time by doing productive chores, learning new things from internet, and also attending online classes; whereas some feel inferior watching others utilize the time while they themselves cannot.

Similarly, there are several particular factors that affect mental health adversely like isolation, social distancing, self-quarantine, restriction of travel and the ever-spreading rumors in social media. People have been eagerly waiting for all this to end, but they have already been so disturbed and out of touch with their past normal life that even after the end of this situation, majority of people will not be able to function like before without proper psychological counselling.

Arshiya Aryal