Sad and irritated are the adjectives that best define the emotional state of Spanish society following more than two years of the pandemic, a period in which the successive variants of the virus have affected the mental well-being of a significant percentage of the population. This is the main conclusion of the Trend Observatory, a study promoted by Cofares.
Specifically, the Cofares Trends Observatory reveals that the emotional exhaustion continues to affect mental well-being 85% of respondents, similar data to that recorded last year in the Trends Observatory “A year of Covid-19 (I): Analysis of the effects of pandemic fatigue among Spaniards”. What’s more, 6 out of 10 Spaniards affirm that their emotional state has not improved following two years of pandemic.
As for the main symptoms associated with exhaustion, difficulty concentrating (76.8%) is added to the list, already observed on the first anniversary of the pandemic, made up of feelings of sadness (85.3%), tiredness (82.9%) and irritability ( 81.3%). Helplessness (77.7%) and difficulty sleeping (72.2%) and loss of appetite (44.8%) are other effects that have emerged this year with greater force.
And it is that, following the second anniversary of the irruption of the health emergency, it becomes clear that the emotional blow of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be baited with mental health and it has not improved compared to 2021: this is confirmed by 6 out of 10 Spaniards.
As for the time remaining for the Covid-19 virus becomes endemic like the flu, the Spanish are, in general, pessimistic. Specifically, 66.4% state that this will not happen for more than a year, compared to 33.6% who believe it will be in the summer or in the coming months.
demographically, it is Generation Z (71.2%) is the one that sees the end of the pandemic the furthest. A fact that demonstrates the psychological exhaustion of this segment of the population despite their desire to return to pre-pandemic life. At the regional level, the regions that see the last days of the coronavirus the furthest are the Canary Islands (88%), Castilla-La Mancha (76.7%), Aragón (76%), the Valencian Community (72%), Castilla y León ( 68.9%) and the Balearic Islands (67.7%).
By age group, it is the youngest, Generation Z (18-25 years), who are most affected by mental exhaustion (94%), compared to Millennials (26-35 years), with 89, 6%; Generation X (36-55 years old), with 82%; and the Boomers (+55 years old), with 77.7%. And it is that, being in a vital stage marked by discovery and social exploration, confinement has especially limited them when it comes to relating to others.
In recent months, this age segment has externalized the consequences of the pandemic on their mental health, since it is perceived before a uncertainty scenario and he is at an evolutionary point where he has to make vital decisions.
By gender, it stands out that the Women are the ones who return to declare that they have experienced the symptoms of the pandemic the most following two years living with the virus and the continuous restrictions: 89% continue to suffer from it.
In relation to the last wave of the pandemic in which we are still immersed, the sixth, 9 out of 10 Spaniards affirm that the consequences of the virus have emotionally affected due to the increase in infections due to the different variants -ómicron or delta-, among other reasons.
The frustration and discouragement (28.1%) are the main effects that Spaniards attribute to the feeling of regression in the pandemic due to the continuous increase in restrictions in the different waves throughout these two years. By generations, frustration equally affects young people (18-25 years old), with 31.8%, and Boomers (over 55), with 28.7%.
In addition to frustration and discouragement, other consequences that have left their mark are lack of family and social relationships to avoid contagion of the coronavirus (19.4%), the nervousness and information overload (17.6%), the social impact of lockdowns and quarantines by positives (15.7%), the social and leisure restrictions (11%) and measures of protection (8,2%).
