COVID-19 and mental health: A narrative review of relevant literature

In the late 2019 and early 2020s, a new variant of SaRs-CoV, now known as Corona virus or COVID-19, debuted internationally. Within a short time, the virus spread on such a scale that it resulted in drastic measures, like worldwide lockdown and strict social distancing, to fight against COVID-19. This study aims to explore the effects of COVID-19 and such protective measures on individuals from different population groups, ages, and walks of life. The literature review method was employed for this study where search words such as ‘aged people’, ‘children’, ‘COVID-19’, ‘families’, ‘healthcare workers’, ‘mental health’, ‘psychological’, ‘social’ and ‘students.’ were used. The findings of this study suggest that the psychological, emotional, and social complications of COVID-19 are not easily or quickly visible as the physical ones. After months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health effects are starting to emerge and pose a serious threat to the well-being of those concerned and the broader society. Likewise, these mental health effects will not vanish as easily and are estimated to stay behind long after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Anxiety, depression, compulsive-obsessive behaviour, hoarding behaviour, panic, stigmatization, and stress are some of the most common identified themes across different population groups. The need for mental health awareness and intervention strategies is ever so important now. Certain recommendations are also suggested in this paper.