Being social animals, humans feel baffled when they are isolated from the rest of the world. This isolation leads to mental agony and distress of varying intensity. With the current outbreak of COVID-19, hundreds of people are being quarantined/isolated to ensure their safety as well as those around them. Quarantine refers to the separation of people who are suspected of having being exposed to the infection, while isolation refers to the separation of the infected person(s) (i.e. confirmed cases) from the general population.
Quarantine and isolation have many negative effects on mental health
In India as well, hundreds of Indian nationals, following the coronavirus outbreak in China were quarantined when they landed in New Delhi. Similarly, to prevent the infection from spreading in Kerala, once three people were identified with the infection, around 3000 people were home quarantined. While this is extremely effective in controlling epidemics triggered by communicable diseases, it has a devastating impact on the mental health of individuals.
Such methods begin to target the person instead of targeting the pathogen, leading to stigmatization and isolation, which further causes separation, anxiety, fear, guilt, insomnia, and other psychological effects, such as suicide.
There are various studies on the psychological impact of quarantines. One such study was conducted by researchers at the Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College, London. They reviewed 24 studies conducted in 10 different countries to better understand the psychological impact on people who were quarantined during epidemics such as Ebola, SARS, H1N1, etc. They concluded that such isolated conditions caused anxiety and fear among people.
Therefore, it is not only important to consider our physical health during such challenging times, but also to pay attention to our mental health. With a lot of uncertainty around us due to the current outbreak of COVID-19, worry, stress, and anxiety are extremely common. However, amidst all of this uncertainty, we must learn to acknowledge and learn to take care of our mental health and be better equipped to cope with the situation we’re facing.
References
Rawat, M (2020). Coronavirus outbreak and mental health. How we can help people in quarantine. Retrieved from. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/coronavirus-outbreak- covid19-cases-quarantine-mental-health-1652639-2020-03-05
Ross, C (2020). How COVID-19 may impact mental health. Retrieved from.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-future-brain/202003/how-covid-19-may-impact- mental-health
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin,
G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: a rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet.