A current media story that cites a research study which advises me on how to maintain excellent mental health while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing is the article that was published last April 16, 2020 by Vox Website entitled “Coronavirus is causing a mental health crisis. Here’s how to fight it” and was written by Anna North. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everybody negatively nowadays. Nobody expected something like this to happen, but it is already here so everybody is just trying to find a way to cope and make the necessary adjustments. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic immediately came into my mind when I was thinking about a current media story for this paper since I know that not everybody will be able to adjust to the lockdown that is being implemented by the government nowadays. Not all people will have the mental strength to deal with the prolonged lockdown, so I got interested in finding an article which would give me an excellent advice regarding how to be mentally strong while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing.
The article that I found at the Vox Website said that one of the ways that people can protect their mental health while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing is through thinking positively (North, 2020). This means that people should think about the positive side of things that this COVID-19 pandemic has brought to them and not focus so much on its negative effects. This is because it is undeniable that the COVID-19 pandemic has given people the time that they need to be closer to each other, the time for families to bond and have stronger relationships, and the time for people to think about what they truly want to do with their lives. Thus, if people can maximize the precious time that this COVID-19 pandemic is giving them to do the things that they could not do in the past, they can still be productive and come out as improved versions of themselves once this COVID-19 pandemic is over.
The article mentioned a recent study that was conducted in China last March 2020 which happened to be the main source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was entitled “Factors Associated with Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019” and was done by Jianbo Lai, Simeng Ma, and Ying Wang. The study revealed that those healthcare workers who were treating the COVID-19 patients experienced serious mental health issues like anxiety and depression because of the intense situation that they were forced to deal with where they had to address an overwhelming number of patients all at once (Lai, Ma, and Wang, 2020). Thus, since the healthcare workers in China were never prepared to face this kind of predicament, many of them eventually experienced anxiety and depression which prevented them from doing their roles and responsibilities effectively.
There is no doubt that it is in my best interest to follow the advice from the article that I should think about the positive side of things that this COVID-19 pandemic has brought to me and not focus so much on its negative effects. Even if this lockdown has been difficult for me, I am still appreciative of the fact that I am healthy and that nobody in my family has caught the virus. I must admit that it has become so boring already to just stay at home for months now, but this is my best contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare workers are scared to death right now because they are exposing themselves to the virus, and they have no choice but to be at the frontline of this fight because this is part of their responsibility to society. Thus, instead of complaining, I will just maximize my time while at home and be as productive as I can. I am just going to follow the advice of the article by being optimistic because I know that there will still be light at the end of the tunnel, and things will go back to normal eventually. I cannot wait for the day when I can go back to doing my normal routine once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
References
Lai, J., Ma, S., and Wang, Y. (2020). Factors Associated with Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 3, No. 3. Retrieved from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2763229
North, A. (2020). Coronavirus is causing a mental health crisis. Here’s how to fight it. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/4/16/21219693/coronavirus-anxiety-depression-mental-health-ptsd-covid
