COVID-19 and mental health: challenges and first conclusions

Abstract

Under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rapid change in the epidemiological situation, and introduced quarantine measures, there are conditions for a sharp deterioration in the mental health of a wide range of people. There are specific stressors that negatively affect mental health; there are population groups that are more vulnerable to psychological stress and the development of pathological psychological defense reactions; there is a sharp rise in the number of cases of heterogeneous mental disorders (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, etc.) among the population and healthcare workers in the foci of infection. The manifestation or exacerbation of mental illness in turn contributes to the spread of viral infection and is associated with a more frequent development of somatic complications and a poor prognosis. The practical problem is to choose effective psychopharmacological agents for the relief and treatment of mental disorders, by taking into account the need to combine the agents with antiviral drugs in somatically weakened COVID-19 patients.