Mental Health Strategies to Combat the Psychological Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Beyond Paranoia and Panic

The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers’ anxiety levels

“…This disease, which quickly evolved into a pandemic, has been named COVID-19. It has rapidly spread from one person to another due to its transmission through respiratory droplets, causing the number of infected people to be higher than initially expected and revealing it to be a serious public health issue (Ho et al 2020 ; World Health Organization 2020 ).…”

Mental health services for infectious disease outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review

“…These symptoms also manifest in the general population, whose prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and acute stress was 27.9, 31.6, 29.2, and 24.4%, respectively (Shi et al, 2020). Similar types of symptoms have accompanied other infectious disease epidemics such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Ebola virus disease (EVD) (Ho et al, 2020; Jalloh et al, 2018; Pfefferbaum & North, 2020; Vyas, Delaney, Webb-Murphy, & Johnston, 2016; Wu et al, 2009). People discharged from hospital after recovering from COVID-19 have reported high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bo et al, 2020).…”

“…The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the largest threat to the world in this century (WHO, 2020). To limit transmission, business and school closures are implemented, mass quarantines (Brooks et al, 2020) are imposed and self-isolation and social distancing (Kaplan et al, 2020) are highly recommended, and such measures have been implemented in almost all countries to differing extents (Galea, Merchant, & Lurie, 2020; Ho, Chee, & Ho, 2020; Jung & Jun, 2020; Li et al, 2020a, 2020b). Millions of people in the world have been infected, with ever increasing numbers under quarantine or in isolation.…”

Health Literacy, Perceived Threat, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia

“…While pandemics can be a stressful experience for all people, research indicates that fear increases stress and anxiety and may lead to emotional disorders. 12 , 13 The perception of threat to one’s health is an important concept to facilitate understanding of people’s reactions to stressful events. The perception of threat is based on two main constructs: 1) perceived susceptibility, which is the likelihood of contracting the disease, and 2) perceived severity, which is the negative consequences the disease has on one’s life.…”

“…For example, multiple studies have reported that psychological disorders can be attributed to the high perception of a disease’s threat. 13 , 15 …”