**6.2 Adults**

Young adults (<35 yrs.) experienced pandemic related consequences in form of closure of universities, uncertainty about future, financial crisis and space crunch that contributed to poor mental health. The stigmatizing psychological pressure of performance during the timespan when universities were shut led to aggravated feeling of guilt, shame, regret, sadness, self-pity, anger, internalized emotions, overwhelmed feelings, negative self-talk, unrealistic expectations and perceived sense of failure among the ones who could not perform due to various reasons [11]. Some of the reviewed studies have highlighted increased correlation of social media exposure with psychological issues like hampered social communication, sleep deprivation and increased gaming behavior, that was inversely related to physical activity in students and finally impairing their overall health [16]. Researches from prior economic downturns show that job loss is associated with increased depression, anxiety, distress and low self-esteem leading to higher rates of substance abuse and "deaths of despair". A study done on 1543 respondents to assess the prevalence of distress found 21–35 years old more prone to distress as compared to other age groups, maybe due to heavy pressure of managing finances along with reduced resilience and coping mechanisms [4, 33].
