The Impact of Isolation on Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Annekathryn Goodman

doi:10.4236/psych.2021.128075

Abstract

The unintended consequences of appropriate public health interventions during an infectious disease outbreak such as isolation and quarantine of exposed individual include depression, anxiety, exacerbation of pre-existing mental illness, cardiovascular illness, and dementia. Populations that may be especially at risk for mental health consequences of isolation include children and adolescents, the elderly, people with cognitive disorders such as dementia, and those with preexisting psychiatric illness. Awareness of these dangers of necessary public health responses and allocation of resources for interventions when populations are under a lockdown should be a mandatory part of emergency planning.

Highlights

All emergencies and disasters can lead to short and long-term mental health consequences
The unintended consequences of appropriate public health interventions during an infectious disease outbreak such as isolation and quarantine of exposed individual include depression, anxiety, exacerbation of pre-existing mental illness, cardiovascular illness, and dementia
Populations that may be especially at risk for mental health consequences of isolation include children and adolescents, the elderly, people with cognitive disorders such as dementia, and those with preexisting psychiatric illness. Awareness of these dangers of necessary public health responses and allocation of resources for interventions when populations are under a lockdown should be a mandatory part of emergency planning

Summary

Introduction

All emergencies and disasters can lead to short and long-term mental health consequences. The terms of social distancing, isolation, lockdown, and quarantine pertain to those in the general population to prevent exposures to infectious disease, those who have had an exposure, and those who are actively infected. These measures can have the unintended consequence of causing emotional and mental distress. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health has been under-recognized and under-responded-to during the COVID-19 pandemic (WHO, 2021). Prior to the current pandemic, the burden of worldwide mental health conditions was high

Goodman DOI

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