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With more than 23 million Californians now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. But the lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic go beyond new hygiene routines and mask-wearing techniques.
The pandemic has affected nearly everyone’s mental health, said Dr. Curley Bonds, the chief medical officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
In October 2020, the
Kaiser Family Foundation found that “41.2% of adults in California reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder, compared to 37.7% of adults in the U.S.”
Frontline workers, caretakers and others who witnessed the immense loss of the pandemic firsthand have been deeply affected. Of those surveyed in a study by the
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A few weeks ago I wrote a column in which I briefly referred to the concept of “cave syndrome.” The term was coined by a psychiatrist in Florida to describe people who are feeling scared or unwilling to reenter post-pandemic society even after being vaccinated because they have grown too accustomed to isolation.
I mentioned it only in passing, having heard something about it on a local news broadcast. But when the column appeared, I was surprised by how many people wrote or spoke to me about it, saying it was something they were experiencing themselves.
“Thanks for giving me a name for how I’m feeling,” wrote one woman. “I love it when something has a name.”