Implications of Covid-19 For Mental Health.

Implications of Covid-19 for Mental Health.
"My friend told me that he has been very frustrated during the quarantine. This
pandemic has completely stopped his life and now he feels lonely, depressed and anxious"
This is one of the many stories that have come to light, among young people in Bogota,
during the pandemic of covid 19. According to the NCBI (2020), the pandemic is not only a
medical phenomenon, it also affects individuals in society, causing them depression, anxiety
and worries that they did not have before. It is said that quarantine and self‐isolation can most
likely cause a negative impact on young people’s mental health. Although not everyone
responds to the situation in the same way, it may happen that being away from their friends
and family makes them wonder when they will return to “normality”. This has generated
feelings of isolation, sadness and depression, feelings that need to be fixed. For that reason,
mental consequences left by the covid 19 pandemic, in young people between 18 and 25
years old in Bogota, can be reduced by adapting mental health services, self-care strategies
and physical activities.
To begin with, according to the World Health Organization (2020), stress and worry
are perceived when people feel uncertainty. For this reason, living through a pandemic might
generate these types of perceptions. In the case of Bogotá, considering data published by
DANE (2020), the most frequent feelings in young people are worry, nervousness, tiredness,
irritability and difficulty sleeping. Although the Ministry of Health has a telephone line to
attend mental health cases (192) and "the reports indicated that 2,100 cases have already been
attended by psychologists prepared for this purpose" (Ministerio de Salud, 2020), the results
are surprising. In the same survey, it is said that more than half of the calls answered are
about domestic violence. The government of Bogotá has several lines to attend to different
kinds of cases of mistreatment. In that sense, it is necessary that services for mental health be
adapted specifically to the pandemic, as for other problems, and that they be disclosed
massively through all possible channels. In addition, it is important that a specific plan be
presented for each person and that it is not a matter of a single call.
Secondly, it must be considered that young people should take care of their mental
health, not just those with psychological illnesses. In addition, they should not wait until
these feelings of insecurity, resulted in fears and worries, affect them. There are a lot of
articles on the internet showing that having a routine is important because, as DANE (2020)
showed, those feelings can affect the daily life of people. For example, a study published by
Javeriana University shows that sleeping sounds have been affected in 49% (Pesquisa, 2021).
In this case, experts recommend people to have self-care strategies in order to control all the
spread of information on Internet that might affect their health. In fact, the World Health
organization (2021) published a series of videos showing some of them. For instance, doing
something they like such as reading, listening, drawing, learning new activities and sharing
time with their friends online. Besides, the doctor-psychiatrist Carlos Gómez Restrepo, dean
of the Faculty of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana gives some indications for
people to be considered (Pesquisa Javeriana, 2021). For instance, by controlling the hours of
exposure to mass media and the news that circulate on the web, correctly managing internet
use, differentiating between leisure periods and working hours and exercising regularly to
promote mental health.
Last but not least, the Covid-19 pandemic has created an environment that promotes
lower amounts of habitual physical activity owing to self-isolation and reduced opportunities
to remain physically active, especially if activities such as walking or cycling as
transportation, or taking part in a leisurely activity are being restricted. In fact, sustained
physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are typically associated with poor physical and
mental health (Pinto et al., 2020). In this sense, physical activity and exercise can be effective
treatment strategies for symptoms of depression and anxiety. On one hand, some research,
done by the University of Michigan Hospital (2020), suggests that elevated levels of aerobic
activity, exercise that significantly raises our heart rates, may be associated with greater
reductions in depressive symptoms. On the other hand, strength-training such as weightlifting
has been shown to reduce the negative effects of stress and anxiety. For all of the above
reasons, it is recommended that young people consider using physical activity and exercise as
a strategy to maintain health during this stressful period.
All things considered, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought many negative effects on
people's mental health. In Colombia there have been cases of sadness, loneliness, depression,
among others. The truth is that many organizations have remarked the importance of mental
health in these times. For that reason, three alternatives have been proposed to help control
the situation in the country. First, it would be ideal that telephone lines are set up. These lines
should be more widely publicized by the government, should show statistics and a true
follow-up of each person's process. Second, it is important to know the self-care strategies
that can be applied. For example, doing things you like such as reading, drawing, and
learning something new. Third, physical activity is a useful tool to counteract the metal
effects. Finally, it is crucial to start applying the measures that are within the closest reach to
avoid any complications. Even if there are strong feelings, it is essential to realize it early and
react.
References
DANE. (2020) Salud mental en Colombia: una aproximación desde las estadísticas oficiales
en el contexto de pandemia. https://www.dane.gov.co/files/webinar/presentacion-
webinar-salud-mental-en-colombia-21-10-2020.pdf
Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. U. (2020). The coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic's impact on mental health. The International journal of health planning and
management, 35(5), 993–996. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.3008
Ministerio de Salud. (2020, May 9). Salud mental, uno de los principales retos de la
pandemia. Minsalud. https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Paginas/Salud-mental-uno-de-los-
principales-retos-de-la-pandemia.aspx
Pesquisa Javeriana. (2020, March 30). Salud mental: reto clave para superar la cuarentena.
https://www.javeriana.edu.co/pesquisa/tag/salud-mental/
Pinto, A. J., Dunstan, D. W., Owen, N., Bonfá, E., & Gualano, B. (2020). Combating
physical inactivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Reviews Rheumatology,
16(7), 347-348.
University of Michigan Hospital. (2020, April 7). Importance of Physical Activity and
Exercise during the COVID-19. Michigan Medicine.
https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/psychiatry/michigan-psychiatry-resources-covid-19/
your-lifestyle/importance-physical-activity-exercise-during-covid-19-pandemic
World Health Organisation. (2020). Mental health & COVID-19.

https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/covid-19
World Health Organization. (2021, April 13). Self-care during COVID-19.

https://www.who.int/pmnch/media/videos/self-care-series/en/

Implications of Covid-19 For Mental Health.

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Implications of Covid-19 for Mental Health.

World Health Organisation. (2020). Mental health & COVID-19.

World Health Organization. (2021, April 13). Self-care during COVID-19.

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