Essay Example on Global Crisis: The Unending Battle Against Disease

Introduction

Over the years, the world has been faced with various issues, some of which have had a huge impact on its condition. One such issue is the rise of different diseases that have posed a great danger to human lives. In the wake of these diseases, the governments of countries all over the globe have had to come together to find a way of solving the problem. Some of these events seemed difficult for the entire world, but eventually, a solution was found. However, there seems no end to the number of diseases that keep rising up of being discovered. Currently, the world is going through one of the toughest times in history as it is grappling with the Coronavirus (COVID - 19) Pandemic. COVID - 19 has been classified as a range of viruses ranging from the common cold to MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) coronavirus and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) (Sood, 2020). The origin of Coronavirus in Hubei province, Wuhan, China. Ever since the diseases was first diagnosed, the number of cases has been sharply rising because it is highly contagious. Moreover, the number of deaths from COVID -19 has been increasing daily with the current number of people who have died from the disease stands at 160, 592. The disease has managed to spread too many countries outside China and to cause its effect to be felt globally. The United States (US) is one of the countries where the disease has affected more than 740, 746 people with 39, and 158 deaths (Sood, 2020). These figures show that the US has become the most affected country globally. The main fear associated with the disease is that it will lead to a huge economic decline in the US. However, that is not the only problem as the diseases have led to psychological problems (stress) among many US citizen. Therefore, this paper will assess the psychological effect (stress) of the corona virus on the people of the United States.

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Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the psychological effects that Coronavirus has resulted in the people of the United States. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, nervousness as well as worry about somethings whose outcome is uncertain. According to Sood (2020), the continuous rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the US has worried many citizens since they do not know when the disease will end. Also, most people in the US have become worried since they do not know what would be the ultimate outcome of the diseases (Sood, 2020). Since the number of cases continues to rise every day, many US citizens fear that the number of people that will die from it will be huge. Others are stressed on whether they may become victims of these diseases and eventually succumb to it.

Moreover, a large part of the US population is worried about the economic impact of the diseases and whether they will be able to keep their job (Sood, 2020). In the wake of Coronavirus, many places have closed, and this means that a large number of US citizens have lost their jobs, and this issue is evident from the number of individuals who have filed for unemployment, which has surpassed the 22 million mark (Sood, 2020). As a result, most of them are worried about whether they will be able to get back their jobs.

Depression

The second psychological effect that Coronavirus has on the people of the US is depression. Depression is a state whereby a person feels sad or loses interest in various activities. The emergence of the corona virus has promoted various governments to take measures to protect its citizens.

One such measure that has been adopted in the US and globally is stay-at-home strategy. US citizens have been advised to stay at home to reduce the spread of the disease (Taylor, 2019). As much as staying at home is a better strategy, it does not seem good for the mental health of many individuals. High levels of inactivity can easily lead to depression.

According to Roxby (2020), brain structure is one of the causes of depression, and this mostly happens when the frontal lobe of the brain is inactive. Many people are staying at home, and this means that they are less active, and so it the brain. Therefore, it is likely that the number of people who are under the depression in the US will increase as this pandemic continues to spread. Also, the stay at home orders means that there will be less in-person social contact. The lack of in-person social contact will result in increased loneliness, and when it is fed into the feelings, it will lead to depression.

Emotional Distress

According to Ammerman et al., (2020), it is evident that in the wake of COVID-19, emotional distress has emerged to be among the psychological issues facing most people in the US. Emotional distress is an unpleasant emotional reaction, such as anguish. The rate of emotional distress in use has significantly gone up as Coronavirus continues to spread (Ammerman et al., 2020). Many people have lost, and others continued to lose their loved ones as coronavirus cases continue, and this has left most Americans with pain and anguish, which indicates emotional distress.

Paranoia

Paranoia is another psychological effect that the Corona virus has resulted in the American people. Paranoia refers to a condition that is characterized by a high level of mistrust as well as suspicion. The presence of Coronavirus has affected most Americans since they have become paranoid about whether they could be having the disease (Ammerman et al., 2020). This fear has been brought about by the fact that most Americans are aware that the disease is highly contagious.

Also, when a person has contracted the disease, one can either show the symptoms or not (asymptomatic). Most people in the US have become paranoid because they may contract the disease and not show the symptoms at all (Ammerman et al., 2020). Therefore, it may be risky to pass to other people, especially those who are vulnerable such as the old and those with underlying medical problems. Moreover, this fear has led to the development of the obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Inability to work

The presence of COVID-19 has affected the ability of many people in the US to work (Wang et al., 2020). Currently, a large number of people in the US are being faced with trauma as a result of losing either a family member or several of them (Sood, 2020). This situation has crashed many people mentally, thus impairing their ability to work, especially those who are able to work at home.

Instead of working, a person will constantly be worried or thinking about a loved one who has died, and this makes it hard to focus on the work (Wang et al., 2020). On the other hand, the doctors are being stressed, and this affects them as they cannot work effectively (Wang et al., 2020).

Conclusion

Concluding, the emergence of Coronavirus has come along with several effects on the world. Most people are worried that the continuing spread of the corona virus will lead to economic decline. However, most people are not aware that Coronavirus will likely lead to psychological problems. The virus has spread to various countries globally and the US has experienced high cases, becoming the new epicenter of the virus after China.

There are various psychological effects associated with Coronavirus that were identified in this paper. First, the paper identified that most people have developed anxiety because they are worried what the outcome of the diseases will be. Many people fear that they might become victims of the disease or they may lose their jobs. The paper went ahead and identified that most people in America are likely to face depression since they are staying indoors because of the stay at home orders and this makes their minds less active.

Also, Coronavirus has resulted in emotional distress since any people are losing their loved ones. Apart from this, paranoia has developed among most Americans since they fear they may contract the disease anywhere. The trauma that is associated with this disease is likely to increase the inability of people to work, especially at home, with the stay at home orders. As much as following these measures in the wake of COVID,-19 is critical, the effects will be detrimental. Therefore, as soon as the pandemic has been contained, it will be essential to offer counseling services to assist those who have been affected psychologically.

References

Ammerman, B. A., Burke, T. A., Jacobucci, R., & McClure, K. (2020). Preliminary Investigationof the Association between COVID-19 and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in the US.https://psyarxiv.com/68djp

Roxby, P. (2020). Coronavirus's 'profound' mental health impacts prompt calls for urgentresearch. BBC news. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52295894

Sood, S. (2020). Psychological effects of the Coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Research &Humanities in Medical Education, 7, 23-26.https://www.rhime.in/ojs/index.php/rhime/article/view/264

Taylor, S. (2019). The Psychology of Pandemics: Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak ofInfectious Disease. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Wang, H., Chen, Z., Chen, B., Li, Q., Zhang, H., Zhu, J., & Li, F. (2020). The psychologicalimpact of COVID-19 outbreak on medical staff and the general public.https://europepmc.org/article/ppr/ppr141344