Depression and Anxiety during Covid-19 Pandemic - Essay Example

"Depression and Anxiety during Covid-19 Pandemic" is a great example of a paper on depression.

Mental health is a set of psychological conditions that determine the state of the human mind (Harvard Medical School 2). Consequentially, Anxiety is a mental condition where the mind responds to fear of the unknown, or rather events yet to happen (Harvard Medical School 2). It is usual for every human being to experience the condition since it helps us handle situations differently. However, intensive responses cause a mental illness that causes harm to the human mind hence altering its normal functioning through overworking (Harvard Medical School 2). The recent COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire world and spread so fast thus making most of the world population anxious as they did not know whether they were infected and took precautious measures to ensure they don't contract the virus (Lorna 2).

Table 1:

Timeline

Month

Event

Source 

Dec(2019)

Emergence of COVID-19

COVID-19 and Mental Health

Jan(2020)

First death due to COVID-19 in China

COVID-19 and Mental Health

Feb

The first fatality in the US

COVID-19 and Mental Health

March

Declaration of coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic by WHO

COVID-19 and Mental Health

April

People’s Reaction to the Virus

COVID-19 and Mental Health

May

Rejection of the Heroes Act in the U.S.

COVID-19 and Mental Health

June

55% of American Adult population display symptoms of Anxiety

COVID-19 and Mental Health

July

The peak of the Corona Virus pandemic

COVID-19 and Mental Health

The emergence of COVID-19 December 2019

The first case of COVID-19 was discovered in 2019 in China (Lorna 12). During this period, the disease was still new to the universe and whose neither cure nor source was known. At first, the health officials at Wuhan China thought it was Pneumonia and informed the World health organization on the rise in cases of Pneumonia so that WHO could offer help (Lorna 12). However, further research by WHO indicated that the symptoms and composure of the micro-organisms were different from that of Pneumonia. It was later identified as COVID-19 (Lorna 12). During these times, the world population was yet to know about the virus. However, health officials in Wuhan were aware of the rising numbers hence communicated with the relevant body, WHO, who conducted further researches and came up with the conclusion that the illness was unique and not Pneumonia as stated earlier (Lorna 12).

First Death in China (January 2020)

There was a rise in the numbers of infected persons due to a lack of full knowledge of the disease, which includes a full scoop on the modes of transmission and the best ways to curb it (Lorna 12). Here, relevant health officials were worried as the “new virus” was now causing fatalities with one person succumbing to it. Here, the family members of the deceased were anxious to know what caused the death of their loved one. Word spread across Wuhan that there was a new disease and that they should isolate those infected to prevent the spread into the entire community (Pfefferbaum et al. 5). Due to the above events, WHO declared a global public health pandemic (Lorna 12).

First Fatality in the U.S (February 2020)

Fast forward, two months later, the disease has spread from Asia to America despite America amongst other countries banning the movement of foreigners into their country (Pfefferbaum et al. 3). One death was recorded, mind you; the deceased contracted the virus due to community exposure (Lorna 12). This was a clear indication that whoever transmitted the virus to them was a community member (Pfefferbaum et al. 3).

Declaration of Corona Virus as a pandemic by WHO (March 2020)

With the numbers totaling 118,000 people testing positive, all schools were shut down in America followed by most countries with people working and studying from home (Lorna 12). Trump funds medicare, such as mental health (Lorna, 12). Mental health was prioritized in this case due to the transition from working at offices and studying in schools, respectively to both working and learning from home (Lorna 12).

People’s Reaction to the Virus (April 2020)

The pandemic affected the world economy; hence employers were forced to cut on staff to have enough finances to carry out their activities (Pfefferbaum, et al. 4). As a result, there was a case of a doctor and patient conducting suicide (Lorna 12). During this month, people globally wore masks and were fully aware of the precautious methods since mass awareness was achieved (Pfefferbaum et al. 3). Despite that, individual governments took the initiative to arrest those who failed to adhere to the rules.

Rejection of the Heroes Act in America (May 2020)

The heroes act contained funds that were allocated to handle mental illness but were rejected since it was not a priority considering the state of the economy (Lorna 12).

55% of the American Adult Population experience symptoms of Anxiety (June 2020)

The increase in the number of people suffering from Anxiety was due to the inability to know whether they were infected, how their tomorrow would be in terms of finances, and their ability to sustain their lifestyles (Lorna 12).

The peak of the coronavirus (July 2020)

Several countries opt to lessen restrictions regulating the spread of COVID-19. The easing of restriction causes a drastic increase in cases of coronavirus with fatality rates reaching a maximum (Lorna 12). Despite other countries controlling the spread such as the preparation of 33% of the rejected Heroes Act, there is a possibility of occurrence of a second wave of the virus where if care is not taken, effects would be worse than the current conditions (Lorna 12).

Conclusion

Mental health is a section of healthcare that should be given adequate attention and resources because mental health contributes to a high percentage of the general output of humans (Pfefferbaum et al. 3). For the COVID-19 case, the cases of mental illness would have efficiently been handled if the Heroes Act would have been passed at the right time (Pfefferbaum, et al. 3).