Allienation as Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic - 35-49

Abstract

The COVID-19 health crisis has had a huge impact on the whole world, leading to a changed life for most people. Staying indoors and avoiding interactions with others for fear of spreading the disease to vulnerable people had a big impact on the mental health of people involved. There were lots of studies conducted that revealed the connection of the COVID-19 pandemic with the rise in the incidence of mental health issues experienced by people all over the world. Most of this research reported increases in the levels of depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, stress, social isolation, attention and concentration levels, hypochondriac tendencies etc. These psychological symptoms have been linked with the phenomenon of alienation, as identified in several studies. Our own research is oriented towards figuring out the perception people have on their state of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic one year after the end of the restrictions imposed by governments. We will use in our endeavor a modified version of the Beck Depression Inventory, adjusted in order to measure the perceived level of depression people were experiencing during the pandemic and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, asking people to rate their symptoms thinking back on their experiences during the pandemic. The results on these two tests will be measured upon the data received from implementing the Beck Depression Inventory and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, this time requesting people to rate their current mental health state, in order to determine if there has been a change in the symptoms experienced.