Lockdown-virus gloom takes heavy toll on young minds

Continuous feed of pandemic misery through various media platforms is unhinging for children and it manifests as compulsive disorders, say experts
Lockdown-virus gloom takes heavy toll on young minds

KOCHI: The horror remains the same each time. As soon as 11-year-old Abel (name changed) closes his eyes to sleep, terrible images come back to haunt his little mind -- images of death, of being orphaned and of his loved ones succumbing to the deadly disease. For the past two weeks, he has not been able to sleep or eat. “We will all die of the virus,” he tearfully tells his parents. At a time when the whole of humanity is struggling under the dark shadow of Covid-18, children, exposed to scenes of death and sorrow unleashed by the virus on television and social media, have been deeply affected.

Abel had been happy at home after his school closed down due to the nationwide lockdown till two weeks back when he started undergoing a drastic change. It took his bewildered parents days of efforts to coax the fears out of their child. They were nonplussed when Abel told them that he suspected that their neighbour had Covid-19, as he was seen coughing and spitting heavily. 

Even a girl as old as 16 years has had a similar experience. She has severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and spends almost eight hours a day repeatedly washing her hands. “She washes her hands immediately after touching any object,” said Dr Arun B Nair, associate professor, Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Thiruvanathapuram, who is treating Abel.

“From the day Abel observed our neighbour, his behaviour started changing. It must be about two weeks ago when he started behaving strangely. Our neighbour is over 60 and is a chain smoker. He usually coughs and Abel has seen this earlier too. With the Covid-19 spread, however, his perspective has changed. One day, when I sneezed in the kitchen, he was devastated. He jumped to the conclusion that I had contracted Covid-19 and that we would all die due to the disease,” said Abel’s mother, who is a software engineer and a resident of Thiruvananthapuram. 

Being confined within the walls of his home for over 50 days has shaken Abel’s life, say experts. During the lockdown days, Abel used to watch videos online and one day, he came across videos which showed the plight of people in Italy, which struck him deeply. “In the videos, he saw people coughing and wheezing, and reports of the virus spreading quickly among people. This has affected him very much. His parents said the child had become so concerned that he used to check on his three-year-old brother when asleep, just to confirm that he was breathing,” said Dr Arun.

According to Dr Arun, Abel’s is a psychiatric condition termed ‘illness anxiety disorder’ -- a persistent fear of having a grave medical illness. “People, usually children, end up with this disorder when they pay excessive and obsessive attention to their health. Now, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, TV and social media platforms have all been relentlessly flashing news of Covid. I have seen cases of elders losing their mental stability due to the lockdown,” said Dr Arun.

It was on Saturday that Abel visited Dr Arun for consultation. He has been able to sleep since then. “When children are exposed to Internet content on smartphones,  they are unable to distinguish between right and wrong. There should be frequently updated messages from trusted sources such as the state and Central governments for the general public. More than scientific jargon, a common man should be able to assess the real situation for himself,” said Dr Arun.

Expert psychologists are predicting a mental health epidemic setting in across the world once the Covid-19 threat diminishes. “Dealing with their children’s apprehensions and keeping them mentally healthy are the responsibility of the parents. What children are being exposed to should be constantly monitored,” said Dr Mony Varghese, a psychologist based in Kochi.

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