The Role of the Pandemic

I would be remiss if I didn’t address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought discussions about mental health to the forefront. The literature is swelling with studies on the myriad ways the pandemic has affected mental health. Indeed, the pandemic created an ever-changing sea of uncertainty, and people had to react quickly to lockdowns, working from home, social distancing, masking and other new personal hygiene routines, loss of childcare/virtual schooling for children, supply shortages, and so on. An epidemiological review by Hossain et al. [4], for example, showed that mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, were reported at a higher rate during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. Other research is finding that people experiencing the pandemic may exhibit traumatic stress reactions like “intrusive re-experiencing” and “heightened arousal” [5].
While those of us with serious mental illness1 have known for a long time about the importance of mental health, the many who are newly impacted by the pandemic are realizing the challenges of living in an environment that harms mental health. These individuals have amplified our sentiments about needing change that promotes positive mental health, making this an opportune time to have a conversation about mental health in the field of computing.