DISTRESS AS A COMPONENT OF PATHOGENESIS OF COVID-19 DURING THE FIRST WAVES OF PANDEMIC

Abstract

The need for psychological aid for a full recovery after COVID-19, primarily overcoming negative emotional consequences, anxiety disorders, which can increase the risk of developing fears, panic conditions, etc. relevant among the psychological research. The aim of our study was to investigate the self-assessment of the mental and somatic state of people who have had COVID-19. There are 104 respondents participated in the study, 81,7% of whom were women. Before disease own emotional state was assessed as “good” or “very good” by 71,1% of respondents: 44,2% and 26,9%, respectively. During the height of the illness, this percentage decreases dramatically, becoming 14,3%. Indexes of assessing one's own emotional state at the time of the survey increase, but do not reach the level observed before illness: 54,7% of respondents rated their condition as “good” (26,9%) and “very good” (27,8%). At the same time, during the height of the disease, 59,6% of the respondents rated their emotional state as “very bad”, “bad”, or “moderate”. Of these, 19,2% rated their emotional state as "very bad", 18,2% - “bad”, and 22,1% - “moderate”. Among the mental disorders at the time of illness, anxiety (62,5%), depression (51%), fear (of the future, death, infecting others) (47,1%), apathy (45,2%), mood swings (34,6%), loss of willpower (33,6%) have been prevailed. On the moment of the survey, mood swings (30,7%), depression (29,8%), anxiety (28,8%), apathy (19,2%) sudden unpleasant memories (19,2%), loss of willpower (18,2%) have been dominated. Among the somatic disorders which were present in participants during the disease increased tiredness (87,5%), physical weakness (86,5%), loss/changes in smell and/or taste (74%), sleep disorders (61,5%), deterioration of memory, attention, thinking, willpower (60,5%), loss of appetite (58,6%) had been prevailed. At the time of the survey, increased tiredness (50%), physical weakness (33,6%), deterioration of memory, attention, thinking, willpower (31,7%), and sleep disorders (26,9%) were still quite pronounced. Among the factors that helped respondents to recover from the illness, the first places belong to the decrease in stress and having more rest (66,3%), emotional support from family and friends (64,4%), receiving the right information about the disease, to understand what was going on, and having awareness about the ways of the disease overcoming (50%). A significant part of the respondents was helped by self-control over own thoughts and emotions such as meditation and prayers (40,4%) and the experience of other people's recovery (40,4%). For a certain part of people (26%), work with a psychologist or psychotherapist was useful to overcome COVID-19. Physical and breathing exercises were useful for 44,2% of our responders. Surprisingly, the last place in the disease overcoming belongs to ways of somatic health restoration, such as the use of medicines (18,3%). Our results suggest that the first waves of COVID-19 disease were characterized by a strong impact of distress which induced a high level of social tension, affected mental sphere, provoking anxiety and worries. Therefore, reduction in stress, support from friends and family, and receiving the right information about the disease played a greater role in recovery than medication.