Mental Health and the COVID Pandemic

Presented by Dr. M. Danielle Fallin, Sylvia and Harold Halpert Professor and Chair, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD.

Uncertainty is a natural stressor, and adverse psychological symptoms can be amplified during a time of crisis, especially among those with chronic mental and behavioral health conditions. This pandemic is also pairing stress with measures of social distancing that can contribute to feelings of isolation and add challenges of sharing time and space with family members. This session summarized recent findings on the psychological effects of the pandemic, as well as offered some strategies for prevention and intervention as the pandemic, and its after-effects, continue.