Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic everything has changed, from our daily routine activities to how we think and plan for the future. As we progress into the later stages of the pandemic, both our thinking and society will change and it is in this backdrop, taking a psychosocial perspective is important in understanding the psychological effect of COVID-19 pandemic on society. Psychological impacts due to such catastrophic events are largely subtle and hidden in nature due to stigma related to mental health issues.
This review paper aims to uncover and demystify the extent to which societies were affected psychologically, and how it has impacted the course of the pandemic. A comprehensive analysis is presented on mental health problems in patients infected from COVID-19, frontline health workers, old age people and women, also of the people who are facing problems due to unemployment and loneliness.
The social behaviors like anti-lockdown protests, anti-racial discrimination protests, anti-vaccine protests and panic buying are also discussed. Finally, some solutions are suggested as learning that we can take from this pandemic so that our society is better prepared psychologically for any future pandemic.
