Multiple Threats

In addition to the threat presented by the COVID-19 virus itself and its multiple variants, various psychological problems may arise due to quarantine, school closures, working remotely, threat of job loss or eviction or food shortage. Isolation itself has a negative impact, increasing reactivity to stress and elevated neuroendocrine responses. The result can be a wide range of mental, physical, emotional, and relational disorders of varying severity. These include problems in concentrating, anxiety, depression, insomnia, aggression, and interpersonal conflicts. The intensity of these symptoms may be due in part to the fear of infection, access to accurate and appropriate information, duration and extent of the quarantine or isolation, feelings of loneliness—and perhaps low levels of Emotional Intelligence that increase the risk of conflict. T