Psychological Health amidst COVID-19: A Review of existing literature in the Indian Context.

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a global health crisis. As of now, the total confirmed cases have exceeded 50 million and total deaths more than 1 million across the world. Such widespread diseases in the past have been associated with a surge in mental health disturbances. In this backdrop, the present review article pertains to discuss the overall impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health by synthesizing the existing literature from India, using PRISMA technique. The articles have been retrieved from Google scholar, NCBI and PubMed database. The result obtained on synthesizing the literature indicates that lockdown (home confinement) and social distancing as a measure to mitigate the outbreak of disease have affected physical and mental well-being. There has been an increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders due to sustained stress related to COVID-19. It has led to a medico-socio-economic crisis around the world. The pandemic continues to evolve with several countries experiencing multiple waves due to continuous mutations in the virus. Hence, it is essential to carefully observe and monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the onset and progression of poor mental health.