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The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing mental and psychological damage to many people. In the field of mental health, experts say that this pandemic is causing a great shock and severe stress for people.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great losses to all of humanity over the past two years, claiming the lives of more than 4.5 million people, causing heavy economic and social losses… invisible pain is immeasurable.

World Health Organization definition of health: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”

Mental health plays an important role in the concept of health. During the long period of the COVID-19 epidemic over the past 2 years, every day we are flooded with measurable numbers such as: Cases, severe cases, then deaths, the number of people recovered… But there is one more. Invisible things, indirect consequences of the pandemic cannot be counted. It is stress, which is severe and prolonged psychological trauma, causing many mental disorders.

Trauma is the result of the body’s response to stressful or life-threatening situations, causing the individual to experience emotional and physical overload, with devastating consequences. long-term aspects such as physical, emotional, social or spiritual.

– Psychological trauma causes many physical and mental consequences, affecting many organ systems in the body:

+ Affects the central nervous system causing changes that can cause brain atrophy, brain degeneration in different regions, affecting memory and cognitive and learning abilities.

Affects the body’s immune system through the neuroendocrine system, weakening the immune system. Therefore, people who experience psychological trauma often have reduced resistance and are prone to other diseases.

+ Affects the cardiovascular system through effects on the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, stress greatly affects the cardiovascular system. Especially blood pressure and heart rate are most noticeable, tachycardia, increased blood pressure. Psychological trauma can affect coronary artery spasm, causing chest pain, even a heart attack.

+ Affects the digestive system: reduces appetite, disrupts the secretion of digestive enzymes and acids in the digestive tract, leading to stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, bacterial disorders in the intestinal tract…

Effects on the endocrine system: Psychological trauma affects many endocrine glands in the body. The hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, pancreatic, and adrenalin systems are all affected.

– By affecting the organ systems in the body as above, trauma affects your body, your thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

+ Common symptoms such as headache, muscle stiffness, muscle tension, chest pain, fatigue, decreased libido, stomach pain, sleep problems such as insomnia, dreaming, nightmare…

+ Affects emotions: anxiety, restlessness, restlessness, irritability, panic, depression, irritability, anger, agitation,

+ Affect behavior: binge eating, or anorexia, use of alcohol, or stimulants such as synthetic drugs, laughing balls. Using opiates, using tobacco. Withdrawal of social relationships, limited exercise and sports.

– More than 1,000 children lost their parents during the 4th wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam. Those are talking numbers. Witnessing the death of their loved ones, leaving behind children without parents. Then our loved one passed away in loneliness, which is really a heavy psychological trauma for all of us.

– The COVID-19 pandemic is a severe and persistent psychological trauma, causing serious psychological consequences for many people. That is the situation: Witnessing the sudden death of a loved one, there is no one to see him off, in a family with many people leaving; Entering the treatment of COVID-19 in makeshift hospitals, witnessing many people lying in treatment, witnessing the departure of patients in the same room, when discharged from the hospital will have sequelae that are difficult to fully recover.

– The economic downturn has persisted for more than two years, especially many industries are almost inactive, leading to unemployment and reduced incomes such as tourism, restaurants, hotels, etc. Renting a house, land… is the cause of many psychological disorders, anxiety and depression. They had to go to the doctor, stay in the hospital for treatment… Just like that, a pathological spiral could not be escaped.

– Teams of medical staff, police officers, volunteers on the front lines of the fight against the epidemic had to stay away from their families and enter the epidemic epicenter, working in harsh, sunny, hot, and no air-conditioner environments, wearing protective clothing. epidemic prevention clothes for many hours. In the field hospitals, we saw a large number of seriously ill patients, who died while we were powerless to do anything for the sick. It was a great psychological trauma. They themselves witnessed the departure of their colleagues without being able to do anything.

+ The doctors and nurses left to take on tasks in the epidemic area, the father or mother passed away forever without seeing the child. They only know how to suffer silently and there are also people who have fallen into a serious mental crisis because medical staff are people just like normal people…

• The Covid-19 pandemic has brought too much pain and loss, when the number of F0 cases cannot be traced and now we are entering a period of adaptation and living with the epidemic. It is hoped that each individual will always have a sense of disease prevention to protect themselves, their families and society, each person joining hands will be a great motivation to help Vietnam fight the epidemic in the near future. Best.

Source: Health and Life, Ministry of Health