As if contracting COVID-19 wasn’t bad enough, a new study from South Korean shows that nine in ten patients who recovered have suffered from side effects.
Long COVID is a real thing
In August, Times of India reported that a study conducted by the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals showed that one in ten patients who have successfully recovered may be bound to suffer from symptoms of the viral infection or damage.
This widespread phenomenon is now dubbed as ‘long COVID’.
According to Medical News Today, recovered patients have reported that the symptoms experience has lasted for many weeks or months.
Common side effects
CNA reports that in an online survey of 965 recovered COVID-19 patients, 879 people or 91.1 per cent responded they were suffering at least one side effect from the disease, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) official Kwon Jun-wook told a briefing.
Out of all the side effects, fatigue was the most common one with 26.2 per cent reading, followed by difficulty in concentration which had 24.6 per cent, Kwon said.
Other side effects include psychological or mental side effects and loss of taste or smell.
The World Health Organization has compiled a list of long COVID side effects which also includes a segment where there is a possibility that COVID-19 can increase the risk of long-term health problems.
More information can be read here.
Anxiety amongst citizens
It’s not just COVID-19 patients and the recovered who are feeling anxious, a recent study conducted by marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson showed that that worldwide pandemic caused three in four Singaporeans and permanent residents to experience some form of anxiety.
The main source of their anxiety was the economy.
Understandable, since Singapore’s economy contracted by 13.2 per cent year on year in the second quarter, the worst on record.
The Straits Times reports that when it comes to COVID-19, two main concerns dominated: the fear of contracting the disease in public spaces and worry about the long-term economic disruption from the pandemic fallout.
About 37 per cent said they were bothered about their families and friends contracting the coronavirus, as many as those who feared catching it themselves at malls or public places.
Thirty-six per cent were afraid of catching COVID-19 on public transport, while about 33 per cent feared being infected while in a taxi or ride-hailing vehicle.
On the economic disruption brought on by the pandemic, 40 per cent were worried it would go on for a really long time. A similar percentage feared that the economy would crash, while 30 per cent were anxious about losing their jobs.
Dealing with these fears
If you’re someone who shares these fears or know someone who has it, it is important to deal with such fears, as being anxious can lead to a number of different conditions such as depression or burnout, according to well-being coach Nitya Rao-Perera.
She shared three main strategies to cope with anxiety arising from COVID-19.
First, there is a need to build up one’s self-efficacy – the feeling that you are in control of your life and taking action.
This means focusing on the things that are within a person’s control, rather than the things they cannot control.
“COVID-19 is not within our control. The way the economy is performing is not, the health of certain industries is not within our control. But how we manage ourselves, how we are reacting to it, all that is within our control. Self-efficacy is the first one and probably the most important coping resource to overcome anxiety,” she said.
Second is the need to remember that life’s greatest lessons are usually learnt at the worst times.
“The more we take a stance that it’s okay to learn from the mistakes that we make… we can bring more reflection into our way of being, and be more compassionate with ourselves,” said Mrs Rao-Perera.
And lastly, it is important to reframe one’s interpretation of a situation, to perceive it in a more positive way.
For instance, if someone is passed up for a promotion due to COVID-19, he can see it as an opportunity to be less stressed or have more time for himself, said Mrs Rao-Perera, adding: “There are different ways that we can interpret the situations that we experience, and how we interpret reflects the anxiety that we will have.”
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