Name: Moshe Shetrit
Instructor: Professor McDonald
Class: English 110 Online
When: Fridays 9:30am-12:15pm
Coronavirus: How Quarantine Affected Us
When we hear the word Coronavirus, we automatically think of illness and quarantine. Everyone in the world was affected and is still affected by the Coronavirus disease. Many effects of the Coronavirus Disease were quarantine, death, illness, depression, and many others that will be discussed in this essay.
The first main effect of quarantine is stress and anxiety related. For the concept of stress, people all over began stressing out due to financial issues. Many people lost their jobs and money from claiming unemployment was not sufficient to cover the bills. Another stress-related effect of quarantine was closing gyms and other fitness centers. This caused many people to develop terrible eating habits resulting in either obesity or severe anorexia. Another major effect of the Coronavirus was social distancing.
Social distancing required people to distance themselves from each other by at least six feet. As a result of this, friends and loved ones were not able to hug each other or get too close to the risk of getting the Coronavirus Disease. Social distancing and quarantine resulted in the effects of social anxiety. Personally, since my father has a heart condition, my mother did not want me to hang out with my friends indoors. This was very hard for me especially when the weather outside was not nice enough to hang out outdoors. Being indoors a lot resulted in a huge amount of screen time. This caused headaches often. Another big factor of quarantine was and is school and classroom related.
Due to social distancing, schools and colleges began having their classes online. There were multiple platforms created for this specific situation. Zoom, Blackboard Ultra, and Google Meets were many platforms used by teachers and students for classroom accessibility. Having classes online for a long period of time results in students losing that school environment. Also, because classes were online, students were not able to be with their classmates and friends. This was also a huge result of social anxiety. I lost touch with many of my friends from high school because of social distancing and having classes online and not in person. In Chile, one of the main effects of Quarantine and Lockdown was more of a psychological approach.
The audience above is leaning more towards parents with teenagers and younger. For working parents, it’s hard to maintain how much screen time their children are getting during the pandemic. It’s important for these parents to set up timers on their phones or on the child’s device to when they should take a break from staring at a screen for such a long time. This will prevent children from getting headaches and boost their social activity and physical activity.
During the period of Quarantine and Lockdown in the country of Chile, there were many reports of psychological effects due to the Coronavirus. According to Paula Dagnino, a professor in Chile said that there was a form sent out to the people of Chile regarding psychological help. There were almost 4,000 people that responded to the form. The main perceived psychological impacts were concern and anxiety. Younger participants had concerns about employment, finances, mental health, stigma, and general health. Women reported more psychological impact and men mainly reported boredom. A major effect of the pandemic and quarantine was more focused on physical health.
I think one of the hardest things about quarantine during the Coronavirus Pandemic was dealing with physical health. A coping mechanism for stress was eating. I was definitely “snacking” more often throughout the days of my quarantines and lockdowns. This resulted in weight gain. I was not able to go to the gym to stay in shape because gyms and other fitness centers were closed. According to Lori Uildriks, a clinical pharmacist and instructor in the Department of Pharmacy reported physical health changes due to stress during the Pandemic. Due to stress, coping mechanisms resulted in bad habits such as an increase in alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other illegal substances. Another major and upsetting effect of the Coronavirus Pandemic and quarantine resulted in many suicides and suicidal attempts.
Depression is a terrible disorder. Unfortunately, there’s no “cure” for this disorder. There are many coping mechanisms, medications, support groups, and therapies that a depressed person can go to. Sadly, not everyone deals with their depression positively. In an online article that I was reading, it was reported that there were 12,746 suicidal attempts. In the same article, it was reported that there were 33,345 suicides. In addition to the coping mechanisms listed above, there are many other things that a depressed person can do. These coping mechanisms are to distract yourself, find simple sources to enjoy, limit your consumption of news, maintain a routine, and express gratitude.
The purpose of the above article is to show us how scary and deadly depression can be. This is probably not even a dent in how many people suffered the effects of depression during the time of the Coronavirus Disease. Another purpose of this article is to warn people with loved ones that suffer from Depression. If you know someone that’s suffering from Depression, don’t just stand by and watch, help them as best as you can.
How can a person distract themselves from their state of depression? Find something to engage yourself with. Whether it’s learning a new language, a new instrument, or a new recipe for your favorite dish. Also, one can learn how to garden, paint, sculpt, or even order large LEGO sets to build and focus on, keeping yourself distracted. “Focusing on a project or goal, even a small one, can give you a welcome break from negative thoughts and worries—and add a sense of meaning to your days.”
What are ways one can bring joy into their life while they are depressed? One can try listening to uplifting music. Another way one can bring joy into their depressed lives is by watching their favorite comedian or their favorite sitcom. Also, spending time with family or your pet can boost your daily joy. Another coping mechanism for depression is to limit the amount of news you consume. This can be done by setting screen time limits on your phone or any other device for social media platforms. A person who is depressed should maintain a routine, by having set times to exercise, spend time outdoors, and communicate with friends and family each day. One can also express their gratitude daily. This can be done by writing a few things down about what you’re grateful for and why.
Quarantine, how were most people in the world affected by the Coronavirus during isolation? According to this website, the main factor of being in lockdown caused many people to become more stressed out than ever before. People are stressed over their physical and mental health. Gyms were closed, so it was very hard for people to stay active and fit. Many people were not able to go to work, so the anxiety of not being able to pay bills or any other financial items made the stress even more intense. The Coronavirus and quarantine resulted in unemployment. The effect of quarantine changed people’s eating and sleep habits. Also, it caused an increase in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and many other substances. Quarantine for everyone was or is a difficult and stressful time.
Work Cited
Dagnino, Paula, et al. “Psychological Effects of Social Isolation Due to Quarantine in Chile: An Exploratory Study.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.591142/full.
Giallonardo, Vincenzo, et al. “The Impact of Quarantine and Physical Distancing Following Covid-19 on Mental Health: Study Protocol of a Multicentric Italian Population Trial.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers Media S.A., 5 June 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7290062/.
Helpguidewp. “Dealing with Depression during Coronavirus.” HelpGuide.org, 30 Aug. 2022, https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/dealing-with-depression-during-coronavirus.htm.
“Pandemic Measures Had a Strong Impact on Mental and Physical Health.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/pandemic-measures-had-a-strong-impact-on-mental-and-physical-health.
Pathirathna, Malshani L., et al. “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Suicidal Attempts and Death Rates: A Systematic Review – BMC Psychiatry.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 28 July 2022, https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-022-04158-w.
“Stress and Coping.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Dec. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/stress-coping/index.html.
