Stringent zero-COVID policy crushing mental well-being of Chinese citizens

Beijing's unwillingness to mitigate the problems of its citizens suggests a dark future for the mental health of the country.

The adoption of a zero-COVID policy by Xi Jinping's government to ensure "dynamic clearing" of the virus has left the country's citizens living in a perpetual state of terror- fear of the state and powers-that-be, then that of any virus, reported The HK Post.

In the last two years, while the rest of the world rose to the occasion and meandered its way through the global health crisis, China has clung to its futile attempt at feigning control over an impossible situation.

The result? The country continues to impose unbearable living conditions within the country, otherwise, it would risk losing millions of people and the possibility of devastation on a mass scale if restrictions are lifted now.

The country's aggressive stance at tackling the virus is spread across various responsive measures, including contact tracing, constant testing at a mass scale, flash lockdowns and social isolation- every one of these 'protective' measures plays a prominent role in creating further, more insidious problems for the common man, reported The HK Post.

The COVID-19 pandemic, at its onset in 2019, was a curveball no country was prepared for. Millions suffered, but they had the comfort of solidarity; the entire world stood still and populations across the globe went through the same distress together.

However, people in China are robbed of such small mercies as well- the rest of the world has moved forward to embrace the new normal, but China continues to live in the all-consuming shadow of the virus.

While other nations accepted the realities of the pandemic (such as community spread and herd immunity), China's insistence on suppressing and containing the spread of the virus has left it with a rather serious Achilles' heel.

The pandemic has brought forth a slew of mental health issues, with a prevalence of emotional distress, depression, anxiety, panic, stress, irritability, insomnia, PTSD symptoms and emotional exhaustion.

American psychologist, George Kelly, theorized that anxiety largely arises from a person's inability to anticipate or predict future events. With large-scale uncertainty clouding the lives of Chinese citizens living under the zero-COVID policy, it doesn't take much to estimate just how adversely people's psyches are afflicted, reported The HK Post.

The strict measures to curb the COVID spread have left people in the country feeling more like commodities than human beings. Jokes regarding people's "expiry dates" have become rampant, wherein the remaining time for the COVID test validity has become the most important part of an individual's life. Mass scale testing has become the reality for people who wish to participate in society again.

However, being reintegrated into society comes at the steep price of "expiring" after every 48-72 hours; people are required to retake the PCR test after the prescribed period is over, thus renewing their "shelf life" to exist in the social world after proving their 'negative' status.

As one would expect, people are also having to make the tough choice to simply not participate in society rather than go through the daily hassle of the new norms, pushing the already deprived people into a more serious state of isolation.

People's levels of perceived stress may remain at a high, and living under such anxiety-provoking circumstances means that people are constantly caught in the body's fight-or-flight response, reported The HK Post.

In China itself, even though reliable numbers are hard to come by, a survey held in April at the time of the Shanghai lockdown found that over 40 per cent of residents were at the precipice of depression. A popular Chinese search engine, Baidu, also saw a 253 per cent increase in keyword search for "psychological counselling" in that month.

Another dire consequence of the zero-COVID policy impacting the lives of people is the threat of loneliness. Man is a true social animal, and it has been proven time and again that we don't exist in isolation, rather, our identity is largely tied to our interpersonal relationships and the role we play in life with regard to significant others.

Moreover, what is to happen to infants in China being separated from their parents under the guise of adherence to strict policy protocols?

The unanticipated separation of infants from parents (which is being reported within the country) at such a milestone is likely to have catastrophic effects on the development of children- if children adopt an unhealthy attachment style due to the chaos and turmoil in their environment, it is likely to lead to a lifetime of problematic relationship patterns and inability to deal effectively with emotional issues, reported The HK Post.

Extended lockdowns over the past couple of years have limited the worldly exposure required by children for normal development. This sensory deprivation, as well as lack of an enriching environment and social isolation, plays an inhibiting role for conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and increases the likelihood of such disorders in children.

A study conducted at Peking University reported that long periods of isolation were correlated to more severe PTSD symptoms.

Moreover, the most essential factor to be able to face a crisis has also taken a large hit with the extended zero-COVID policy lasting over 2 years.

( With inputs from ANI )

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