There are reports of otherwise healthy people developing extreme anxiety, delusions and hallucinations — for reasons experts don't yet understand.
, telling stories of previously healthy individuals who suddenly develop symptoms like hallucinations or violent delusions.In so many ways, the pandemic has whipped up a perfect storm for mental health issues. There’s the stress and isolation of pandemic living, and there are millions of people dealing with the fallout of an infection and long COVID. Loss, fear, uncertainty and physical pain have upended many people’s lives.
It is possible, for example, that people with schizophrenia have underlying immune system disturbances that increase their risk of severe illness if they are infected with COVID-19. But researchers haven’t ruled out the very real possibility that it could be something else. Social determinants of health, like economic stability or access to health care, could also be factors.
“This COVID-19 psychosis is mysterious ... most cases seem to occur out the of the blue and we don’t know why.”There are no solid estimates on how many people around the world have developed sudden-onset psychosis after a COVID infection, but the available data shows that it is rare. Still, mental health experts say it is an important issue to track because there’s still so much they do not understand about it.
Most case reports are puzzling, in that they’ve cropped up in individuals with no previous mental health issues, and the symptoms are severe. Case studies have described patients becoming physically and verbally aggressive, seemingly out of the blue. Some came to