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“This Pandemic Is Making Me More Anxious about My Welfare and the Welfare of Others:” COVID-19 Stressors and Mental Health

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  • Ramey Moore

    (College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA)

  • Melissa J. Zielinski

    (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
    Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA)

  • Ronald G. Thompson

    (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA)

  • Don E. Willis

    (College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA)

  • Rachel S. Purvis

    (College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA)

  • Pearl A. McElfish

    (College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Fayetteville, AR 72703, USA)

Abstract

COVID-19 and subsequent social distancing guidelines have changed many aspects of people’s daily lives including the way that they interact within their social environment. Pandemics are inherently social phenomena, and public health measures intended to curtail transmission of COVID-19 (e.g., quarantine and social distancing) have consequences for individuals with anxiety and depression. Using qualitative methods, respondents with previously diagnosed anxiety or depression identified ways in which COVID-19 affected their symptoms at multiple levels of the social ecological model (SEM). Key themes reported were organized following the SEM. Emergent themes at the individual level are isolation/loneliness, fear of contracting COVID-19, and uncertainty about the future. Themes at the interpersonal level are: fears of family contracting COVID-19, separation from family members, and domestic relationships. Themes at the level of community and societal stressors are: employment, community and societal systems, media, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings demonstrate the ways that mental health, physical health/safety, and social environments are interrelated in the experience of COVID-19 for individuals diagnosed with anxiety or depression. These findings make a significant contribution to the literature as this is the first article to document mental health stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals with diagnosed anxiety and depressive disorders.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramey Moore & Melissa J. Zielinski & Ronald G. Thompson & Don E. Willis & Rachel S. Purvis & Pearl A. McElfish, 2021. "“This Pandemic Is Making Me More Anxious about My Welfare and the Welfare of Others:” COVID-19 Stressors and Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-12, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:11:p:5680-:d:562247
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karynna Okabe-Miyamoto & Dunigan Folk & Sonja Lyubomirsky & Elizabeth W Dunn, 2021. "Changes in social connection during COVID-19 social distancing: It’s not (household) size that matters, it’s who you’re with," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kelvin I. Afrashtehfar & Carlos A. Jurado & Amaweya Al-Sammarraie & Musab H. Saeed, 2023. "Consequences of COVID-19 and Its Variants: Understanding the Physical, Oral, and Psychological Impact," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-5, February.
    2. Eleonora Gambaro & Carla Gramaglia & Debora Marangon & Manuela Probo & Marco Rudoni & Patrizia Zeppegno, 2023. "Health Workers’ Burnout and COVID-19 Pandemic: 1-Year after—Results from a Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Yvonne Schaffler & Martin Kuska & Antonia Barke & Bettina K. Doering & Katharina Gossmann & Zdenek Meier & Natalia Kascakova & Peter Tavel & Elke Humer & Christoph Pieh & Peter Stippl & Wolfgang Schim, 2022. "Psychotherapists’ Reports regarding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Their Patients: A Cross-National Descriptive Study Based on the Social-Ecological Model (SEM)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Wei Song & Taiyang Zhao & Ershuai Huang, 2022. "How Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect People’s Willingness to Pay for Health in the Short and Long Term? A Longitudinal Study during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-11, January.

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