STRESS DURING

COVID-19
SUBMITTED TO- MRS. ISHA YADAV SUBMITTED BY- ABHISHEK YADAV
ASST. PROFESSOR ENROLMENT NO.- 210101006
PSYCOLOGY B.A.LL.B (SEMESTER- 1)
DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,
LUCKNOW
Acknowledgement

I express my gratitude and deep regards to my teacher for the subject Mrs. Isha Yadav for giving me such a
challenging topic and also for her exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the
course of this thesis.I would also like to thank the librarians of Dr. Madhu Limaye library who extended their
assistance to me by helping me out consult the relevant books and provided me with research materials and good
books to work upon and the distinguished authors jurists and journals for providing n the public domain such
invaluable information .I also thank all of my friends and seniors who aided me along the way.Lastly, I thank
almighty, my family and friends for their constant encouragement without which this assignment would not have
been possible. I know that despite my best efforts some descrepancies might have crept in which I believe my
humble Professor would forgive.

Thanking you all. 

- Abhishek yadav 
Declaration

I hereby declare that the project work entitled “Stress during covid-19” submitted to the Dr.
Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow is a record of an original work doe
by me under the guidance of Mrs. Isha Yadav, Assistant Professor, Psycology, Dr. Ram
Manohar Lohiya National Law University and this project work is submitted in the partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of B.A.LL.B (hons.).The results
embodied in this thesis have not been submitted to any other university or institute for the
award of any degree or diploma.

-Abhishek yadav
INTRODUCTION-

More than 18 months in the coronavirus pandemic, we have experienced a whole different world
around us. We still remain in the limbo between the lives once lived and the life we are living right
now. Since the beginning of the pandemic, people started to realise that their lives are no more in
their control. With the fast growing patients of covid 19 and inadequate healthcare system of our
country people started their day with the daily risk assessment and their chances to get infected. The
pandemic had undoubtedly taken so many lives and what it had done simultaneously is increase in
the stress in the lives of people. In our country people are yet shying away or avoid talking about
their mental health which is as important as our physical health, and needless to say that covid has
increased the stress in the life of every group and class of the society for example a student is
worried about his education weather he will go to school, or spend a complete whole year sitting in
front of computer screen listening to the monologous lectures of the teachers, a parent is stressed
about his kids future and similarly everyone with their own things of stress. These all factors not
only have adverse effect on our body but also on our relationships, and social image. We all have
stress of something or the other and covid has played a significant role in increasing it therefore we
should know that what actually is called stress and how to cop up with the stress in our new world
of uncertainity and make our lives better.
What is Stress?

 Stress is a normal reaction to the everyday pressure we face in our

daily life. It is an emotional response which caused typically by an
external trigger which might be short term trigger like the last date
of the project submission or a fight with our dear and near ones;
and long term also like not being able to work, discrimination or
chronic illness. People under stress can experience various
symptoms like anger, irritability, muscle pain, low energy and
insomnia (sleeping disorder).
 Mild stress can be coped up by doing regular exercise, taking
nutritious diet and taking a proper sleep and also there are many
ways that can help one out to cop up with stress.
 What are some sources of stress?*

 There can be multiple sources of stress to name, however a survey Sources of stress*
STRESS DURING COVID -19 was conducted which intended to
know about the sources of stress in life of people during pandemic. Financial unstability
It found that many adults say that uncertainity of events (55%) and Lack of social interaction
fear of getting covid(46%) were the very significant source of
stress followed by health problems affecting family members Education

(43.8%),education (42.5%),lack of social interaction(42.5%) and Health problems affecting

family
financial unstability (17.5%). Some participants also mentioned
Fear of getting covid
other sources of stress like career, family issues etc. Few of these
are often heard sources of stress but covid pandemic has even made Uncertainity of events
them more stressful. Therefore covid times proved to be life
0 20 40 60 80 100
threatening as well as life harshening.
very significant somewhat significant
not very significant not significant

*based on survey STRESS DURING COVID 19

Effects of Stress

 Our body is capable enough to handle mild stress but if stress becomes long term
then it do effects our body. Over stress can affect our-
 Musculoskeletal system- when our body is stressed then the muscles tense up and it
is like a reflex of our body to handle stress. For example both tension type stress and
migraine are the effects of the tense muscles for a long time due to chronic stress.
 Respiratory system- stress can also affect our respiratory system and a person
suffering intense stress can experience shortness of breath or rapid heartbeat. Also it
can be more problematic for people with pre existing breathing disorders. Some
studies show that an acute stress like death of a loved one can trigger asthama
attacks as well.
Effects of Stress

 Cardiovascular system- Heart and blood vessels together are called cardiovascular and
they both plays an important role in managing the stress. Sudden stress like project
deadline, running late for office or avoiding an car accident makes our heart to beat faster
and pump more blood in the vessels and as a result a person with chronic or long term
stress are prone to cardiac diseases.
 Apart from the aforementioned effects stress can also cause problems relating to Nervous,
Gastrointestinal and Endocrine system of the body and in certain cases it is also seen that
it negatively affects the reproductive system as well.
 Effects of Stress*

Emotional effects of stress*

60

 In context of the aforementioned effects of stress a survey was 50

conducted regarding effects of stress experienced by people in terms of
physical, emotional and cognitive effects of stress. 40

 Emotional effects- The most common emotional effects people 30

experienced were that they had difficulty relaxing their mind(68.8%)
20
and they became easily agitated, frustrated and moody(62.5%) however
people also experienced other effects like feeling lonely and 10
depressed(53.8%).
0
Becoming Diificulty in Feeling No effects
easily, relaxing lonely and
agitated mind depressed
frustrated
and moody

*based on survey Column1 Column2 Column3

 Effects of Stress*

Physical effects
60
 Physical effects of stress- It was found that most of the people felt low on
energy (63.7%) and headaches(42.5%). However a significant number of people 50
also experienced insomnia(38.8%) and rapid heartbeat(21.3%). Few people
shared that their pre existing disorder also aggravated due to increase in stress 40
during the pandemic.
30

20

10

*based on survey
 Effects of Stress*

 Cognitive effects- According to the survey conducted, 61% people felt Cognitive effects*
60
inability to focus and 56% people felt constant worrying followed by
racing thoughts(51%) and forgetfulness(30%). (multiple effects were 50
experienced by participants)
40

30

20

10

*based on survey
How to manage Stress?

 Stress is the normal part of life which do not have significant symptoms on our
body on mind but it can be equally adversely effective it becomes chronic or for
long time. However there are multiple number of activities which can help us
reducing stress level in our lives-
 By eliminating stressor- A few people can expressly experience psycological
effects of stress whereas others can not. Two people can respond to a similar
situation in a very different way, like a person can not be under pressure for
deadlines and another person in similar situation may become stressed which can
eventually result in declined mental health. So it is suggested that try to identify
the exact source of stress and try avoiding or reducing it if possible. For example
by giving up extra workload, relaxing for a while or asking for a help.
How to manage Stress?

 Try to acquire social support- In multiple mechanisms for controlling stress,

acquiring social support can be very effective method. In our family or friends
there are many people who can listen to and try to help you out in every possible
way. Social interaction was not a cup of tea for us during covid times which also
induced certain amount of stress, therefore expressing our concerns and asking
for support can inevitabely reduce stress rather than this giving support or
helping someone out can also increase positive emotions and reduce negatively.
So acquiring social support is always an option for reducing stress.
How to manage Stress?

 By seeking good nutrition- when we become stressed due to something

then our brain releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol which
obiously make psycological changes but more than that it can also affect
our digestive system. In various studies it is found that acute stress can
reduce appetite but in a long term stress the hormone cortisol can also
increase fat and sugar cravings. A diet high in various nutrients can help is
good for our health and makes our body ready to face challenges. Try to
consume variety of fruits and vegetable available and make it a part of
your diet. A few people also consume intoxicants like alcohol to reduce
stress but it can not solve the actual problem that is causing stress and can
also adversely affect health adversely. So consuming nutritious food is also
as important as many other and it not only helps in stress but also in
various physical and mental disorders.
How to manage Stress?

 Take sufficient Sleep- Sleeping is very essential for physical and emotional well being.
Experts recommend teens to take eight to ten hours of sleep at night. Sleep needs to be in
priority to keep stress in check.
 Exercise- Physical activity works as natural stress reliever in people of all ages. Regular
exercise must be included in daily routine to avoid various physical and mental problems.
 Make time for fun- Try to take out some time your busy schedule to do whatever that
brings joy to you, whether it is watching TV or playing your favourite sports. It can divert
your mind from stressor and bring some relief to you.
 Ways of managing stress used in
pandemic*

 In the context of ways used by people to manage or cope up with their stress amid
pandemic a survey was conducted, in which participants said that listening to music
(67%) was their most used stress relieving tool. However they also shared that
spending time with their loved ones(61%),exercise(49%),watching
television(49%),surfing internet(44%) and spending time doing a hobby (34%) were
also their techniques of relieving stress. In the course of responsing to the survey few
people shared that they just chose to be alone doing nothing and relaxing their minds.
An anonymous person shared that he chose spiritual ways like meditation for the sake
of stress relief.

*based on survey Stress during covid-19

 Conclusion

 Through the survey conducted it was evident that people do experienced increased stress in their
lives due to the corona virus pandemic. Most of the people shared that apart from being a threat
to physical health, covid proved to be more sort of a stressor that even in worst cases also
affected the decision making ability of few people. It created multiple sources of stress in lives of
people like even people were unable to interact with their friends and society which resulted in
depression, agitation and increased irritability in them. Due to stress people also experienced its
effects on their physical health as maximum number of participants shared that they actually
experienced headaches and low energy, also a good amount of people agreed that during the
pandemic they often slept more or less than their ordinary time of sleeping.
In the very limited resources available people also managed the stress in the ways which they felt
are useful to them, in covid times with almost not leaving the houses for about two years people
listened to their favourite music and became more often user of social media in order to relax their
minds and feel relaxed from stress.
So it is concluded that the pandemic endangered both physical and psycological health of the people.
References

 Stress in America appendix. (2021).

https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/appendix
 Stress effects on the body. (2021).
https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
 How stress affects your health. (2021).
https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/health
 Healthy ways to handle life’s stressors. (2021).
https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/tips
 COVID-19 stress management tools. (2021).
https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/stress-management-tools