Surviving the Shadow Pandemic: The Mental Health Implications of COVID-19

First identified in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) has since spread globally causing widespread deaths, suffering, and panic. In January, COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and in March it was finally declared a pandemic (global outbreak). While public attention has been finely attuned to the physical suffering and long-term physical effects which occur as a result of COVID, an equally important area of concern is the effects of the pandemic on mental health, especially among vulnerable populations. Surviving the Shadow Pandemic: The Mental Health Implications of COVID-19 is a collection of research essays by students of Canadian universities exploring themes related to mental illness, discrimination, and the link between physical and mental health. Throughout the course of the book, a number of questions will be explored; for instance, how have lockdown procedures and social distancing affected mental health? How are ethnic minorities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community differentially affected by the pandemic in terms of mental illness outcomes? How does contracting the virus change these outcomes? Finally, how has psychological treatment changed in light of health protocols discouraging in-person contact? These questions and more will be answered in Surviving the Shadow Pandemic: The Mental Health Implications of COVID-19.