The Effects of the Quarantine on the Mind and the Body
2 min read
By: Kamryn McAfee
In March of 2020, the world was officially thrown into the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools were shut down, Workplaces were closed, and everyone was stuck in their own home. These events all lead to what some call the worst part of the pandemic. The quarantine.
What is a quarantine? Quarantine is defined as being,” A state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious diseases are placed”. It is also defined as,” Impose isolation on (a person, animal, or place); put in quarantine”. The common theme between these definitions is that they both include the term isolation. Isolation can lead to a multitude of different symptoms in both the mind and body. A survey found that 34.1% of people who had to quarantine reported having certain psychological symptoms which include: anxiety, depression, insomnia, and acute stress. This is compared to the 27.3% of people who were not quarantined and had these problems. Due to jobs getting shut down, people also had to deal with the stress of not having a job to support themselves and their families. The effects can also be physical with an increase in drinking and binging habits that people got to get rid of the stress and anxiety of the pandemic. This can lead to an extreme amount of physical problems later on in life. Some examples of these are Obesity, Arthritis, Cancer, and High blood pressure. This is all traced back to the fact that humans are made to be social. People being kept away from others is not natural, which means that isolation can be harmful to your physical and mental health. Some tips to help others would be to talk to therapists and professionals, practice talking to random people to help with social anxiety, and be physical can also have a positive effect on your life.
The COVID-19 cases have, since the lockdown, gone down greatly, however, the effects of the quarantine will last for a long time, Which is why intervention through healthy mental and physical awareness is important.
