COVID-19 and Anxiety: The Psychological Effects

 of the Pandemic

Shabnam Ashrafzada

Abstract. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a pandemic is a large-scale epidemic that affects millions of people in many countries and sometimes spreads worldwide. Pandemics pose a threat to health with an unknown nature, highly contagious characteristics, and symptoms. Restrictive measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus have both physical and mental effects on individuals.The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people's lives globally across many areas, including psychological, economic, and health aspects. In general, it is believed that the transition to a new lifestyle, the presence of restrictions, changes in routines, and uncertainties about health and the future can cause anxiety in individuals. In this context, a review of studies in the relevant literature shows that generalized anxiety disorder has increased during the pandemic. In addition, the study addresses a current problem and is considered important for future research, given the limited number of studies in this area. It is known that both the impact of the disease on human health and the limitations and consequences of pandemic measures have caused individuals to experience a difficult period in terms of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the psychological symptoms of anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in humans and analyzes scientific studies. We hope that the article will explain the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety disorders and show how to deal with such situations.

Keywords: generalized anxiety disorder, fear of COVID-19, mental health, pandemic, health anxiety cognitive lexibility