Mental Health in the Post-Pandemic Era: Challenges and Coping Strategies

Abstract

The world has experienced long term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on culture and mental health. It has already caused higher degrees of depression, anxiety, burnout, grief and social isolation among the people. Moreover, socioeconomic instability, future uncertainty, digital fatigue, reduced social cohesion, and more distress are post-pandemic elements that make the current conditions of post-pandemic culture even more complicated. All these are factors that lead to general socio-economic instability. Meanwhile, various coping techniques like the resilience building, mindfulness, social and family support, and the application of digital mental health tools have been found to be critical in facilitating recovery and adaptation. This paper will review the available literature to discuss the key mental health issues of the post-pandemic period and find suggested coping mechanisms at the individual, community, and systemic levels. The findings highlight the need to involve a combined approach that encompasses professional responses, facilitating policy structures, and ground level campaigns to improve mental health systems and develop resiliency to future occurrences of crisis.