What are the psychological effects of pandemic isolation?

A summary of the psychological effects of pandemic-associated living conditions.

The spread of COVID-19 worldwide during the year 2020 has totally changed the way we live, and that has had different consequences.

One of the ways in which the average citizen has been able to experience these changes has been as a result of the isolation imposed for health reasons. We will now analyze this phenomenon as well as the psychological consequences it has had on some people, that is to say, the psychological effects of isolation due to pandemic.

The main psychological effects of isolation by pandemic

In order to dive into the problem of the psychological effects of isolation due to pandemic, we must make an introduction that helps us to situate ourselves contextually. The arrival of the coronavirus and its spread to practically all regions of the world meant a rupture, at least momentarily, with the lifestyle of many people. a rupture, at least momentarily, with the lifestyle of many people in the world..

This abrupt change was mainly due to a series of confinements, more or less harsh depending on the region where they were decreed, but severe in almost all Western countries. As a result of these new rules, established to control the sources of contagion and thus alleviate the collapse of the health systems, most of the population was forced to remain in their homes.

Of all the complications that this confinement could have caused for citizens in many spheres of their lives, we will focus specifically on the psychological effects of isolation due to the pandemic. It should be borne in mind that, logically, this issue did not affect all people equally, since the personal, social and psychological conditions of each person make his or her case unique.

However, some generalities can be drawn some generalities can be drawn which, although they do not apply to the entire population, do apply to a group significant enough to become a factor of note. to become a noteworthy factor. With these considerations in mind, in the following section we will explore some of these effects, delving deeper into the causes and consequences of each of them.

The most important psychological effects of pandemic isolation

Once we are clear about the context in which this problem is situated, and that the impacts caused by it will not act in the same way on all people, we can go on to analyze the different psychological effects of isolation due to the pandemic.

1. Anxiety and depressive symptomatology

The first and probably the most abundant effect, since many people have experienced it to a greater or lesser degree, is the development of anxious and/or depressive symptoms. It is important to take into account the scenario in which this isolation occurred in order to understand this factor.

It was not only a matter of confinement, but also a situation of total uncertainty and depression. a situation of total uncertainty and fear of an element, in this case the coronavirus, about which the population hardly knew anything..... As if that were not enough, the media bombardment about the contagions and the victims was constant. These variables provided the ideal breeding ground for increasing anxiety and negative emotions in many people.

Thus, a large part of the population suffered the first of the psychological effects of pandemic isolation. And its consequence was shocking. To reflect this graphically, we can look at the sales of anxiolytic and Antidepressant drugs during the period of the pandemic and compare it with other years.

In countries such as Spain or Mexico, this comparison is chilling, as the number of drugs sold has doubled in the last few years. the amount of drugs used to treat anxiety and depression has doubled, demonstrating the scope of this pandemic.which demonstrates the scope of this issue.

2. Increase in social phobia

Social phobia is a form of anxiety but in this case triggered by social situations, i.e. interaction with other people. It seems paradoxical that this is one of the psychological effects of pandemic isolation, but it has a logical explanation. In fact, this has been an aftereffect, but on a very specific range of the population, this has been an effect that has affected a posteriori, but a very specific range of the population, namely those who already suffered from social phobia or had a certain tendency towards social behavior..

These are those who already suffered from social phobia or had a certain tendency towards behavior that fit this pattern. These people, who were already having difficulty coping with social relationships, were suddenly faced with a situation that prevented such interactions almost completely, which at first reduced the likelihood of suffering anxiety because of them.

However, once the confinement was over, these individuals had to face their daily lives again, complying with the measures required by the new legislation, but still exposed to the possibility of interacting with other people. After a long period in which this could not happen, this fact meant a worsening in the management of anxiety by people with social phobia.

3. Impairment of cognitive functions

Another of the psychological effects of pandemic isolation was, according to a study by Joanne Ingram and collaborators, that of cognitive impairment. This group of authors found that part of the population, especially the elderly, suffered from this condition due to the lack of social interaction imposed by the confinement..

They compared the performance of a group of people in tasks related to memory, attention, learning and other exercises, over 13 weeks. The authors were able to observe that subjects performed better when they were in a personal situation where they could interact with other people, while their performance was worse during conditions of confinement and isolation.

4. Post-traumatic stress

The experience lived by many people throughout the coronavirus has meant a greater emotional impact than they have been able to bear, especially if they have lived close to a case of seriousness or even death. This may have been traumatic for some individuals and may have generated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which could lead them to relapse.which could lead them to relive that discomfort in the future.

This is one of the psychological effects of isolation by pandemic that make more evident the impact that the coronavirus crisis had on the mental health of the population, since some of its sequelae may have remained hidden for some time and have surfaced some time later, such as post-traumatic stress.

People who have suffered this pathology would need help to reprocess those vital events that, having an excessively high emotional charge, were not correctly processed and continue to generate these negative feelings repeatedly.

5. Development of hypochondria

But these are not the only psychological effects of pandemic isolation. Having lived through a climate of extreme stress in a context of insecurity about health, those with a certain predisposition to hypochondriasis may have developed this psychopathology..

Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that the information initially available on COVID-19, when the confinement began, was scarce, even in relation to the symptoms. Therefore, it was common for many individuals, at the slightest symptom of discomfort, such as a headache or cough, to feel that they could have been infected, with the consequent anxiety that this caused them.

6. Physical deterioration

Although we are talking about the psychological effects of isolation due to the pandemic, we cannot overlook the deterioration that many people suffered at the physical level, either because of the lack of exercise to which they were subjected by not being able to leave their homes, or the lack of vitamin D by not being exposed to the sun at practically any time.

These issues also have an impact on the mood and ultimately the psychological state of individuals, who may experience discomfort as a result.

7. Separation anxiety

As with other psychological effects of pandemic isolation, separation anxiety is an issue that arose later, especially in some children. Confinement caused many members of the same family to spend 24 hours a day together for several weeks, in many cases being unable to attend school or work.

When this situation changed and obligations were resumed and therefore the corresponding moves were resumed, many children had developed so-called separation anxiety, and therefore experienced psychological distress when they were away from their family for the first time in a long time..

8. Lack of exploration

To complete this list of psychological effects of pandemic isolation, we come to the deficit of exploration behaviors that many children suffered, especially those of younger ages.

The obligation to stay at home and therefore not being able to go to other places or interact with other people than those they lived with meant that infants and children were unable to explore as much as they would have been able to. meant that infants and children were not able to explore as much as would have been desirable..

Although these are not all the effects that isolation may have generated, they are some of the most noteworthy.