Date Time Study: Negative mental health effects of pandemic lockdowns spike, then fade Social distancing policies correlated with immediate increases in interest in information about “isolation” and “worry” – but those effects tapered off two to four weeks after their respective peaks, says new research co-written by Dolores Albarracín, a professor of psychology and of business administration at Illinois, and Bita Fayaz Farkhad (pictured), an economist and a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at Illinois. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Absent a widely available vaccine, mitigation measures such as stay-at-home mandates, lockdowns or shelter-in-place orders have been the major public health policies deployed by state governments to curb the spread of COVID-19.