Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.
Sheikh Qassem: The government’s latest decision [on the disarmament of the Resistance] is non-charter-based, and if the government continues down this path, it is not faithful to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

History of psychological distress linked to lengthy Covid

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 18 Sep 2022 16:15
4 Min Read

When the distress of the mind and COVID collide, a lengthy period of infection is triggered.

  • x
  • Depression was reported in 23% of patients at 1-year following COVID-19 infection, according to a recent meta-analysis. Credit: Getty Images
    About 40 million adults over 18 in the United States live with an anxiety disorder (Getty Images)

A new study revealed that if you suffer from typical psychological conditions, such as anxiety or depression, you may have a 50% increased risk of getting long Covid-19.

Breathing issues, cognitive fog, chronic coughing, changes in taste and smell, overwhelming exhaustion, trouble completing everyday living duties, and sleep disruptions can last months, if not years, even after the infection has cleared the body.

According to a study published this month in JAMA Psychiatry, people who self-identified as experiencing anxiety, despair, or loneliness, or were excessively anxious or worried regularly were more likely to have lengthy Covid-19.

"We found participants with two or more types of psychological distress before infection had a 50% higher risk of getting long Covid," said study co-author Dr. Siwen Wang, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

Around 40 million persons over the age of 18 in the United States have an anxiety illness, and over 21 million have suffered from serious depression, according to national statistics. Specialists revealed that several mental health problems frequently overlap, resulting in concurrent diagnoses.

Read next: COVID has taken severe mental health toll: WHO

More than a fifth of adults in the US (22%) and the UK (23%) say they often or always feel lonely, a Kaiser Family Foundation study said.

"Having higher levels of psychological distress prior to a Covid infection also increased the risk of getting long Covid by 50%," Wang said. "Those people also reported more symptoms seen in long Covid."

Related News

Top Blackstone official among Manhattan shooting victims

Japan executes 'Twitter killer' for 2017 serial murders

The study's findings could be used to support the concept that post-Covid disease is psychosomatic, which was a popular belief in the early days of the pandemic, according to Dr. Wesley Ely, a professor of medicine and critical care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He was not a participant in the study.

Instead, the study's message should be that people with existing psychological distress are closer to the "disaster" of long Covid, said Ely, co-director of Vanderbilt's Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship Center.

"Imagine 10 people are running a race, and you give five people a head start," Ely said. "Those are the people who already had a mental health issue -- they are just closer to the unfortunate finish line of getting long Covid."

The mind and the body 

The notion that mental illness has a negative impact on the body is not novel. It's also a two-way street: chronic illness is highly linked to the development of depression and other psychiatric problems.

With common noninfectious disorders such as heart disease, "depression/anxiety/emotional distress do appear to play a role," said Dr. Joseph Bienvenu, a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, in an email.

He was not involved in the study.

Read next: COVID-19 Increased Anxiety and Depressive Disorders

People suffering from significant depression are more prone to develop blood pressure problems and heart attacks. Insomnia has been related to chronic sadness, stress, and anxiety, and a loss of quality sleep is a major contributor to the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses.

An associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Stanford University in California, psychological distress weakens the immune system, according to research coauthor Dr. Angela Roberts.

"Your brain and your immune system are very tightly interconnected," Roberts said. "Studies have shown when you're depressed or anxious, your immune system doesn't work as well against targets like viruses and bacteria."

  • Mental Health
  • COVID-19
  • depression
  • Coronavirus

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS