Open AccessLoneliness Under Lockdown: Caring for Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19
Author(s) -
Zier Zhou
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
university of ottawa journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2292-6518
pISSN - 2292-650X
DOI - 10.18192/uojm.v11is1.5928
Subject(s) - loneliness , mental health , hotline , covid-19 , social media , psychological intervention , demographics , psychology , internet privacy , medicine , psychiatry , sociology , computer science , world wide web , telecommunications , demography , disease , pathology , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Social interaction is critical for maintaining mental health, but constant lockdowns in response to COVID-19 inevitably make this difficult. Technology use is widespread and at the core of many interventions that allow people to stay connected. This commentary aims to explore the positive and negative effects of online spaces like social media, how crisis hotlines and peer support groups help those who are dealing with individual mental health challenges, and when in-person gatherings may be reasonable for certain age demographics including children and seniors.