**9. Conclusion and future directions**

The infamous COVID-19, apart from being highly contagious, had severe physical, social and psychological manifestations in the form of isolation, quarantine and lockdown which hampered our social support system on a large scale. COVID-19 looks to be a lingering stressor and is bound to induce acute panic, anxiety, obsessive behavior, paranoia, depression and PTSD in long term even if the cases subside. The notable psychological consequences looming out of this disaster need to be addressed. Altered mental status and behavioral changes have been mentioned to be acute effects of the virus, and a putative link between those affected with COVID-19 and longterm psychiatric comorbidities might merit further research. So, all efforts should be directed towards minimizing the negative effects of this traumatic pandemic event on mankind including its mental health implications. Lessons learnt from this pandemic can help shape interventions and legislations in the near future. Therefore, either we identify the probable rising impact on mental health and work upon it or we will pay the price in the form of worsened quality of life in the post pandemic aftermath when we will need all the able bodies to help the world economy recover.

*Stress-Related Disorders*
