For now, we just know that coronavirus takes a toll on your body and affects it. Early in the pandemic, there was a myth that COVID-19 is a short term illness. Only in recent months, there has been some light to the long haulers. Several studies have been carried out to see the course of illness.
In the study, more than 7,000 people shared their experience as COVID-19 “long haulers” whose sicknesses have persisted for months. The experts found a number of common psychological symptoms and anxiety was the eighth most common long-haul symptom cited by many people who were surveyed.
Those without Covid-19 infections are also seeing their mental health suffer amid the pandemic. A study published in June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that symptoms of anxiety and depression nationwide increased significantly from April through June compared with the same period last year. The National Alliance on Mental Illness, a nonprofit organization, has seen a 65% increase in people reaching out to its helpline for mental health resources since the onset of the pandemic.
Many long-haulers said their mental health suffered when they faced skepticism about their symptoms from friends, family, and even medical providers. Female long-haulers pointed to numerous studies showing that medical providers were more likely to underestimate women’s pain levels and misdiagnose their conditions.
The pandemic has caused mental stress for many people in its disruption to social, work, and exercise routines. But these interruptions are even worse for long-haulers. Some cut themselves off from the community because they are sick, and also because they fail to explain physical and mental problems that they themselves do not understand. Now they are trying to adjust to the new normal.