SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Pandemic Lessons for Mental Health and Well-Being

This special issue of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine (IJPM) speaks to the reality of the liminal space healthcare providers and society at large find ourselves in. Over a year since the World Health Organization declared SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) a pandemic, we have lived through the unexpected shock, sacrifice, and loss brought about by an emerging virus that has effected the whole world. Not only have healthcare workers continually adjusted and dealt with the care of the medical consequences of COVID-19, we have also been placed in the front row for the political and societal strains that only made our work more challenging. Just as real as the devastating effects of COVID-19 on individual bodies and minds, we have also confronted the reality of how fragile the social fabric and the belief in science and truth actually are. However, with vaccine distribution continuing and the stealthy pace of scientific discovery, we can also peer around the world and see glimpses of post-pandemic life emerging, one that will benefit greatly from the hard forged lessons and knowledge gained since March, 2020. Between these two realities, this issue of IJPM sheds light on some of those lessons and forces us to confront the immense impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of patients and those going into the medical work.