What Are The Psychological Effects Of Pandemic Isolation?

The expansion of COVID-19 worldwide during 2020 has totally changed our way of life, and that has had different consequences.

One of the ways in which the average citizen has been able to experience these changes has been as a result of the isolation imposed for health reasons. Below we will analyze this phenomenon as well as the consequences that it may have triggered on a psychological level in some people, that is, the psychological effects of pandemic isolation

The main psychological effects of pandemic isolation

In order to immerse ourselves in the problem of the psychological effects of isolation due to a pandemic, we must make an introduction that helps us situate ourselves contextually. The arrival of the coronavirus and its spread to practically all regions of the world, meant a break, at least momentary, with the lifestyle of many people

This abrupt change was mainly caused by a series of confinements, more or less harsh depending on the region where they were decreed, but severe in almost all Western countries. As a result of these new regulations, established to control sources of contagion and thus alleviate the collapse of health systems, the majority of the population was forced to remain at home.

Among all the complications that this confinement could have caused for citizens in many spheres of their lives, we are going to focus specifically on the psychological effects of isolation due to the pandemic. It must be taken into account that, logically, this issue did not affect all people equally, since the personal, social and psychological conditions of each person make their case unique.

However, Some generalities can be extracted that, although they do not apply to the entire population, they do apply to a sufficiently significant group enough to become a notable factor. Taking these considerations into account, in the next point we will be able to explore some of these effects, delving into the causes and consequences of each of them.

The most important psychological effects of pandemic isolation

Once we are clear about the context in which this problem is situated, and that the impacts caused by it do not have to act the same on all people, we can move on to analyze the different psychological effects of isolation due to a pandemic.

1. Anxious and depressive symptoms

The first effect and surely the most abundant, since many people have experienced it to a greater or lesser degree, is the development of anxious and/or depressive symptoms. It is important to take into account the scenario in which this isolation occurred, to understand this factor.

And it was not just a confinement, but it entailed a situation of total uncertainty and fear towards an element, in this case the coronavirus, about which the population hardly knew anything As if that were not enough, the media bombardment about the infections and the victims was constant. These variables were the ideal breeding ground for increasing anxiety and negative emotions in many people.

This is how a large part of the population suffered the first of the psychological effects of isolation due to the pandemic. And its consequences were shocking. To reflect it in a graphic way, we can look at the sales data for anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs during the pandemic period and compare it with that of other years.

In countries like Spain or Mexico, this comparison is chilling, since The number of medications dedicated to treating anxiety and depression has doubled which demonstrates the scope of this issue.

2. Increased social phobia

Social phobia is a form of anxiety but in this case triggered by social situations, that is, interaction with other people. It seems paradoxical that this is one of the psychological effects of pandemic isolation, but it has a logical explanation. Actually, This has been an effect that has affected a posteriori, but a very specific range of the population

These are those who already suffered from social phobia or had a certain tendency towards behavior that fits into said picture. These people, who already had difficulties in dealing with social relationships, were suddenly faced with a situation that prevented these interactions practically completely, which at first reduced the option of suffering anxiety because of them.

However, once the confinement ended, these individuals had to face their daily lives again, complying with the measures required by the new legislation, but still exposed to the possibility of interacting with other people. After a long period in which this could not happen, this fact meant a worsening in the management of anxiety for people with social phobia.

3. Impairment of cognitive functions

Another psychological effect of pandemic isolation was, according to a study by Joanne Ingram and collaborators, cognitive deterioration. This group of authors verified that part of the population, especially the elderly, suffered from this condition due to the lack of social interaction imposed by confinement

The performance of a group of people on tasks related to memory, attention, learning and other exercises was compared over 13 weeks. The authors were able to observe that the subjects performed better when they were in a personal situation in which they could interact with other people, while their performance was worse during the conditions of confinement and isolation.

4. Post-traumatic stress

The experience lived by many people throughout the coronavirus has meant a greater emotional impact than they have been able to bear, especially if they have experienced a serious case or even death up close. This fact may have been traumatic for some individuals and may have generated post-traumatic stress which could lead them to relive that discomfort in the future.

This is one of the psychological effects of isolation due to a pandemic that makes more evident the impact that the coronavirus crisis had on the mental health of the population, since some of its consequences may have remained hidden for a time and have emerged some time later. , such as post-traumatic stress.

People who have suffered this pathology would need help to reprocess those life events that, having an excessively high emotional load, were not correctly processed and continue to generate those negative feelings repeatedly.

5. Development of hypochondria

But these are not the only psychological effects of pandemic isolation. Having lived through a climate of extreme tension in a context of insecurity about health, Those people who had a certain predisposition to hypochondria could have developed this psychopathology

Furthermore, we must not forget that the information that was initially available about COVID-19, when the confinement began, was scarce, even in relation to the symptoms. For this reason, it was common for many individuals, when faced with the slightest symptom of discomfort, such as a headache or cough, to feel that they had been infected, with the consequent anxiety that this caused them.

6. Physical deterioration

Although we are talking about the psychological effects of isolation due to the pandemic, we cannot help but pay attention to the deterioration that many people suffered on a physical level, either due to the lack of exercise to which they were subject due to not being able to leave their homes, or the lack of vitamin D by not being exposed to the sun at practically any time.

These issues also have an impact on the state of mind and, ultimately, the psychological state of individuals, who could experience discomfort as a result.

7. Separation anxiety

As was the case with other psychological effects of pandemic isolation, separation anxiety is an issue that arose later, especially in some children. The confinement caused many members of the same family to spend 24 hours a day together for several weeks, not being able to attend school or work, in many cases.

When this situation changed and obligations and therefore the corresponding transfers were resumed, many children had developed the so-called separation anxiety, and therefore experienced psychological discomfort. when they were away from their family for the first time in a long time

8. Deficiencies in exploration

To complete this list of psychological effects of pandemic isolation, we come to the deficit in exploration behaviors that many children suffered, especially those of younger ages.

The obligation to remain at home and therefore not be able to go to other places or interact with more people than those who lived there. meant that babies and children were not able to explore as much as would have been desirable

Although these are not all the effects that isolation could have generated, they are some of the most notable.