According to WHO, “Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or

her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully,
and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” Mental health includes our
emotional, psychological, and social well-being of a person which affects how we think, feel,
and act and also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices (1).
Mental Health is an integral part of our psychological state. It is not just the absence of
mental disorders or illness but the overall well-being and the state of emotional sustainability of
an individual. Mental health is very important as it affects our cognitive abilities, productiveness,
behavior and influences other aspects of our daily life. Furthermore, it influences how a person
would respond to any given situation.
Naturally people tends to stress over any abnormal, unusual or unfamiliar situation which
deteriorates mental health and result in mental health disorders or illness. There are various types
of mental health disorders, such as-
 Anxiety disorder
 Depressive disorder
 Bipolar mood disorder
 Obsessive compulsive disorder
 Schizophrenia
Besides these there are many more mental health disorders which are also known to reduce the
soundness of one's mental health.
Covid-19 had made a dyer impact on every aspect of the world. But it has also put a mental
strain on every person on the planet today, from a child to an elderly. As we know everyone
reacts differently to stressful situation, just as so everyone will respond to this pandemic
differently, depending on background, community, financial solvency and a huge range of other
factors. As mental health has various aspects to it aside from mental illness stigmas, similarly,
various states of stress and mental detrition is seen during this awful ordeal. It is making people
around the whole world face this unprecedented fear, stress and uncertainty. This ordeal has
brought upon a challenging phase for us mentally and physically by bringing in prodigious
amount of stress, fear and uncertainty alongside the harm it's causing to the affected people.
The mental health issues people are facing during this pandemic is not any less of a
predicament. In this pandemic the anxiety disorder had become more widespread among all other
mental health illness. Besides depressive disorders, bipolar mood disorder may also be seen
among people.
During this pandemic most people are in constant and excessive stress and fear of the
dreadful outcome of this ordeal which is causing anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder involves
distress and disability from abnormal amount of worry and fear. It causes excessive worry and
fear that affects our thoughts, feelings and physical symptoms. All anxiety is not bad anxiety.
Low or normal level of anxiety may act as motivator that keeps people more cautious regarding
maintaining personal hygiene and prohibiting themselves from going out. But in case of
excessive anxiety, it can deteriorate one's mental soundness and peace. As people are strictly
advised to be in home quarantine it’s natural to feel lonely and depressed. Moreover, the social
distancing and lock down can take a toll on our mental health. Even though this new normal is in
motion to keep people physically sound but it’s affecting our mental health negatively. Anxiety
is also seen among people who fails or takes time to cope-up with new situation. Most people
dealing with anxiety disorder experiences physical symptoms like shortness of breath, racing
heart and sweating, sometimes even headaches and high blood pressure. Anxiety disorder
includes panic disorder which is characterized by recurring panic attacks, which are sudden and
intense rushes of extreme fear or discomfort that gradually increases within minutes (2). In the
coronavirus pandemic because of extreme fear and anxiety of being affected by the virus or
losing someone close people may get panic attacks.
The coronavirus pandemic can cause people to have other mental health illness like
depressive disorder and bipolar mood disorder. The anxiety and fear of being affected, financial
uncertainty, unstableness of job alongside the dramatic transformation of home quarantine,
lockdown, social distancing, disruption of our normal routine, etc. can put people in risk of
depression. These can cause people to feel hopeless, miserable, ruminating, helpless and
depressed to a great extent causing depressive disorder.
During this dreadful situation it's very natural to experience a variety of emotions. In case of
bipolar mood disorder, one moment people might feel relaxed and content, and another moment,
people may feel anxious and alone (3).
It is evident that as the number of cases for covid-19 climb anxiety, fear and depression is
also rising. The ideas one can follow to cope-up with the increasing amount of mental health
problems among the people of the whole world during this corona pandemic situation are listed
below-
 Adapting and creating positive new routines to keep one motivated.
 Staying informed about the do’s and don’ts.
 Managing social media and information or news intake.
 Taking a break from reading, watching or listening to news about the corona pandemic.
 Getting good amount and quality of sleep.
 Staying connected with friends and family through social media, text message or call will
help combat loneliness.
 Eating healthy and well balanced meals.
 Meditating and exercising regularly can effectively reduce stress.
 Taking up new hobbies or engaging in activities one enjoys.
 Avoiding alcohol and drug intakes.
These are some effective ways to adjust or cope-up with the current dreadful situation.
In conclusion it can be said, fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause
strong emotions in adults and child (4). During the corona pandemic many mental health
problems are evident which are deteriorating mental soundness in widespread among people.
Therefore, the ways suggested by many health organizations or institutions should be followed to
reduce risk of covid-19 and mental health problems.
References:
1. Mentalhealth.gov. What is mental health [Internet]. 2019. Available from:
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health
2. Khan Academy. Panic Disorder. Available from:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/mental-health/anxiety/a/what-
are-anxiety-disorders
3. Sharp Health News. Bipolar Mood Disorder in Covid-19. 2020; Available from:
https://www.sharp.com/health-news/sadness-and-depression-during-self-quarantine.cfm
4. Centers for Disease control and prevention. Fear and Anxiety. 2020; Available from:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-
anxiety.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus
%2F2019-ncov%2Fprepare%2Fmanaging-stress-anxiety.html&fbclid=IwAR3nvwhPw-
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