Triggers of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic became a global concern on December 31, 2019, when the World Health Organization declared its emergence in Wuhan, China. From that moment, humanity faced one of the most arduous challenges in history, radically changing the way each individual thinks, their environment, and their actions, significantly impacting mental health. Objective: To identify the factors that caused anxiety and depression disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This study is a non-systematic bibliographic review. Results: Sixty articles were selected in the initial stage of research, with 43 of them being cited in this work—17 articles in Spanish and 26 in English. Seventeen articles were excluded due to not matching the date range, lack of access to full information, or not being in English or Spanish. Discussion: Social isolation and quarantine measures, primarily aimed at reducing community transmission of COVID-19, had a profoundly negative impact on the mental health of the global population, leading to an increase in depression, anxiety, substance abuse, grief, and loneliness. Conclusion: The pandemic introduced triggers for anxiety and depression, such as fear of infection, loneliness, isolation, economic difficulties, alcohol consumption, and the inherent damage caused by these factors, which have become and remain central to the psychological disorders affecting people today.