PTSD and Pandemics

Pandemics, such as the 2003 SARS outbreak or Covid-19 which affected the whole world in 2020, wreck havoc with lives and livelihoods. In response, most of the attention becomes focused on those who contract the disease as well as the economic effects. The effects on mental health may not receive as much widespread attention, however they are likely to last well beyond the physical and economic toll. 

There are many factors in a pandemic that contribute to its mental health ramifications. In the immediate, it threatens everyone with physical harm and leaves people without a sense of control over their safety. A pandemic also disrupts society at the same level as a terrorist attack or natural disaster, sending waves of anxiety through entire populations. That sense of anxiety is heightened as people live in quarantine arrangements, largely cut off from the community and social support networks which would otherwise help them cope. 

Quarantine and social isolation is traumatic enough, however for many it is made even worse by being trapped in living arrangements with an abusive partner or parent. Financial distress and large-scale disasters are known to increase the rates of suicide and self-harm. The long-term economic effects of the coronavirus combined with a breakdown in a community’s ability to connect and respond resiliently may even increase rates of human trafficking. 

Unsurprisingly, those hardest hit by the mental and emotional trauma of a pandemic are those personally impacted by death. This includes those who contract the disease and their family members as well as the front-line medical workers who deal with overwhelming caseloads and stressful, evolving work environments. Society owes a special debt of duty to care for the mental health of those doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other medical staff who risk their own well-being to look after the needs of others during a pandemic. 

Research and experience tells us that those not directly affected by the illness could also face mental health challenges well after the pandemic has passed. People seriously affected financially as they lose jobs or retirement savings may face ongoing mental health effects. In places put under quarantine during the SARS outbreak, higher levels of depression and PTSD were reported. People who spend a lot of time absorbing traumatic news or social media may also be at a higher risk for later, ongoing mental health concerns. 

Hope Roots offers training and resources in body-focused therapies for those who are supporting people affected by traumatic events. Click here to find training for yourself and to learn how you can provide resources to those responding in under-serviced communities. Or, click here to learn about our summer 2020 Henna for Hope Campaign.

1​ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-health/202003/mental-health-in-time-pandemic

2 ​https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/ptsd/covid-trauma-response/

3 https://polarisproject.org/blog/2020/04/covid-19-may-increase-human-trafficking-in-vulnerable-communities/

4 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-health/202003/mental-health-in-time-pandemic