Abstract
The article analyzes COVID-19 as one of the most traumatic events of the last decade. In particular, the specifics of the impact of traumatic experiences on the psycho-emotional state are discussed. The analysis of resources used to fight the pandemic has pointed to the inability of the world’s health systems to cope with the challenges.
The article reveals a picture of experience during a traumatic event, which includes insecurity and a lack of safety. At the same time, vicarious traumatization, which was a significant concern for journalists and medical personnel during the pandemic, is considered. The article examines the role of the media in shaping people’s attitudes. In particular, the article discusses the extent of the news and the nature of the publications that caused the mass panic. The problem of fakes that have emerged in the context of the coronavirus pandemic is reviewed.
Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, trauma, resources, health, media, panic.
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in early 2020, combined all the signs of an emergency, from the scale to the significant health damage. It has attracted a considerable amount of resources, the lack of which has pointed to the health system’s crises (Häyry, 2021). Emotional reactions of populations to the pandemic exhibit typical phases of reactions to a natural disaster, with a gradual increase in the severity of mental illness. A parallel process, sometimes outpacing the spread of infection, was known as infodemia (Kira et al., 2021). COVID-19 is one of the most massive traumatic events of the last decade, the consequences of which are palpable even after the crisis has passed.
The pandemic has changed life habits, but the most significant impact is the trauma people experienced during the coronavirus pandemic. Several categorizations of trauma during COVID-19 can be found in the literature, among which psychological trauma is mentioned first (Kira et al., 2021). The invisible nature of the threat and the infection process deprived people of the belief in their invulnerability, which increased anxiety and confusion. It led to the emergence of a unique term, coronaphobia, as a compulsive fear of contracting the coronavirus (Kira et al., 2021).
However, the massive scale of the trauma has caused doubts about whether COVID-19 can be characterized solely as a psychological one. Symptomatically, the definition is accurate, but researchers agree this is predominantly a collective trauma (Kira et al., 2021). When a large group of people goes through a traumatic experience, these people’s relationships with each other, their identities, and government structures change. Thus, the traumatic event translated into social, economic, and political consequences.
Resources
The resource issue was particularly acute during the pandemic since the traumatic event revealed the unpreparedness for challenges. Above all, it was the lack of necessary protective equipment and the dubious quality of the supplies. With the increased disease incidence, people swept masks and antiseptics off the shelves.
At the same time, most products were characterized by a low protection level, influencing their effectiveness. As the number of people getting sick increased, there was a shortage of everything: medics, protective equipment, hospital beds, ventilators, tests, and medications (Häyry, 2021). Therefore, the situation was critical, and the resources possessed by the state were insufficient.
Furthermore, the issue was exacerbated by the quality of the tests. Different measures of disease definition had a high probability of error. At the same time, the technological resources were of high quality, and a network of CT diagnostics was deployed during the pandemic (Häyry, 2021). Among the most valuable resources were audio and video disinformation materials that effectively dealt with the fakes. However, additional tools were required to prevent the spread of the infection.
The first is financial; investing in health care could have prevented acute resource shortages. Proper investments could support economic demand while maintaining social stability (Häyry, 2021). Telemedicine has as much potential as financial resources. In patient management, it could help doctors make artificial intelligence-based diagnoses (Häyry, 2021). Moreover, video and audio communication would help maintain isolation and prevent the problem of overburdened and overcrowded hospitals.
Vicarious Trauma
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in numerous deaths and caused financial hardship and social isolation, which exacerbated the feelings of trauma. However, a special place during the pandemic belongs to the vicarious trauma that primarily affected journalists and medical personnel (Li et al., 2020). A significant form of vicarious trauma during COVID-19 was a work-related one.
Journalists were among the first to witness the rapid increase in the number of infected people worldwide daily. When gathering information from open sources, journalists had to work with unedited visual material, including footage of overcrowded hospitals and the number of deaths (Li et al., 2020). Constant exposure to this material inevitably affected the psyche and caused vicarious trauma.
The COVID-19 pandemic is justifiably called a war, and medical professionals were on the front lines of it. The threat to life and health made the situation potentially psycho-traumatic, while contact with the sick exacerbated the situation. A recent study by Chinese colleagues involving medical personnel reported symptoms of depression (50.4%), anxiety (44.6%), sleep disturbances (34%), and distress (71.5%) (Li et al., 2020).
Vicarious traumatization, characterized by repeated exposure to other people’s trauma, is a common adverse psychological reaction of medical personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The high exposure risk and low support and protection levels caused it. Patients dying at hospital doors, mobile morgues overflowing with corpses, and helplessness are just a few of the causes of trauma for doctors and nurses.
Media Coverage
Another feature of the pandemic was the unprecedented amount of media and social media coverage. Information about the coronavirus and the course of the pandemic came from various sources, including unverified ones (Su et al., 2021). News coverage was often inaccurate, and numerous fakes caused audiences to feel unrelenting stress and uncontrollable information chaos. Various sources gave conflicting information about the course of the pandemic, and over time, there was spread material about government conspiracy theories (Su et al., 2021). It, in turn, lowered the level of trust in the government and doctors, thus creating more problems.
The traumatic event was characterized by an exaggerated and constant stream of bad news detailing the spread of the virus. The media reinforced the fear with extensive graphic material showing the number of deaths. In media terms, the coronavirus pandemic is the first time that the spread of the virus to more and more territories was covered non-stop by the global media (Su et al., 2021). Inaccurate information became an absolute media onslaught, resulting in an irreversible public panic.
At the same time, psychosis in the information network spreads in the same viral way as the epidemic (Su et al., 2021). The only difference is in the source: in the pandemic, it is the virus and the infected person. When, on the other hand, in disease-induced psychosis, the transmission occurs from one person to another through the mechanism of emotional contagion. No less traumatic are the stories of survivors, which demonstrate the extent of the consequences of the experience.
People who have contracted the coronavirus do not leave hospitals completely healthy, as evidenced by their personal stories. According to a survey of survivors, many young, previously healthy people have recovered from COVID-19 so far (Moy et al., 2022). Consequences of this virus can range from sleep disorders and depression to stroke and pulmonary fibrosis.
The long-term effects, which could be five or ten years later, are still unknown. Even those who have had a mild illness require at least psychological rehabilitation. Interviewees note that people have died before their eyes, treatments have been experimental, and stress still haunts them (Moy et al., 2022).
Therefore, rehabilitation after coronavirus is necessary for every survivor, regardless of the severity of the disease. After illness, almost all survivors remain asthenic and weak, with headaches, shortness of breath, and depressed mood (Moy et al., 2022). Individuals who have had moderate to severe coronavirus pneumonia require mandatory comprehensive rehabilitation.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, the significance of the media coverage of COVID-19 was enormous and difficult to overestimate. The media was responsible for doing more than simply reporting on the situation. It was up to the media to shape public opinion and reaction to the challenges ahead. However, the nature of media coverage only further traumatized the population.
Numerous fake publications have simultaneously caused two traumatic events: infection and mass psychosis. In the public mind, the coronavirus was seen as an infernal threat that could reach everyone, even in the home. Consequently, there was a rush for foodstuffs, leading to a lack of food, more panic, and thoughts of the apocalypse. Society was in a state of uncertainty and tension caused by the emergence of a new and unpredictable disease.
References
Häyry, M. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic: Healthcare crisis leadership as ethics communication. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 30(1), 42-50.
Kira, I. A., Shuwiekh, H. A., Ashby, J. S., Elwakeel, S. A., Alhuwailah, A., Sous, M. S. F., & Jamil, H. J. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 traumatic stressors on mental health: Is COVID-19 a new trauma type. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2, 1-20. Web.
Li, Z., Ge, J., Yang, M., Feng, J., Qiao, M., Jiang, R., & Yang, C. (2020). Vicarious traumatization in the general public, members, and non-members of medical teams aiding in COVID-19 control. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 88, 916-919. Web.
Moy, F. M., Hairi, N. N., Lim, E. R. J., & Bulgiba, A. (2022). Long COVID and its associated factors among COVID survivors in the community from a middle-income country — An online cross-sectional study. Plos One, 17(8), 33-64. Web.
Su, Z., McDonnell, D., Wen, J., Kozak, M., Abbas, J., Šegalo, S., & Xiang, Y. T. (2021). Mental health consequences of COVID-19 media coverage: The need for effective crisis communication practices. Globalization and Health, 17(1), 1-8. Web.