The importance of mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic 

The way in which people are experimenting and handling stay-at-home orders has become a psychological challenge especially when people are forced to quarantine along with others who increase the tensión with their fears and phobias , or when they deny the COVID-19 pandemic is real and refuse to follow physical distancing rules, including basic hygiene measures that reduce the possibility of contracting the novel coronavirus amid the pandemic.

Isolation

, even when the measure is implemented voluntarily, contributes to stress, uncertainty about the future, the anguish about the delicate balance that allows us to have a family , an income , a job , a group of friends, although, during this times, we are isolated but not uncommunicated.

The quarantine is a hard challenge for those who live in small spaces or overcrowded homes, which exacerbates the feeling of seclusion . All these factors spark depression and collective fear .

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When the mind is isolated , fed with news about illness and death, or panic and paranoia among people, they generate catastrophic idea s among people. For those who lost a loved one amid the public health crisis, despite the cause of death, not being able to carry out a traditional funeral has an emotional impact on them.

Therefore, people now have to learn to deal with frustration and uncertainty generated by isolation. Health authorities must be alert over the collateral effects that could spread among people, such as addictions and alcoholism . Moreover, there are people who use their free time to spread fake news , which could drive others to refuse to follow physical distancing measures or to panic.

Authorities must carry out a balance and start to consider mental health amid the pandemic, especially in the case of children, as well as the consequences the quarantine will have on them, especially if they have experienced domestic violence . Therefore, some rules will have to be reconsidered or relaxed when the time comes to return to our daily activities.

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