**1. Introduction**

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has undoubtedly changed the lives of individuals all around the world in profound ways. First identified in Wuhan, a city in Hubei Province in China, at the end of 2019, the pathogen responsible for the pandemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has noticeably become the modern era's largest global health threat [1]. Although, Chinese authorities reported the country's first cluster of pneumonia cases related

to this virus on December 31, 2019, it wasn't until January 30, 2020, that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency [2]. At the beginning of March 2020, the world essentially shut down, with countries closing their borders, schools closing their doors, and employees either laid off or directed to begin working from home. As the virus was confirmed to be capable of humanto-human transmission via respiratory droplets, individuals began to wear masks, social distance from one another, and quarantine to contain its spread [3]. Within weeks, the world effectively began to witness and experience the repercussions of the pandemic; beyond its disruption of the global economic and health care systems, it has impacted the physical health of individuals significantly, with the virus resulting in hundreds of millions of cases and, consequently, millions of deaths [4]. Those who became infected with SARS-CoV-2 experienced symptoms that ranged from fever, dry cough, fatigue, and loss of taste and smell to pneumonia, respiratory distress, septic shock, and organ failure [5–7]. Many individuals who recovered from COVID-19 have since reported experiencing lingering symptoms as part of a condition that came to be called long COVID [8]. The unique range of symptoms associated with COVID-19 and the consequential fear and anxiety associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, including concerning the possibility of dying from it, led to the development of what is now termed "coronaphobia" [9]. This kind of state of prolonged fear and anxiety has been shown to increase the risk of major psychiatric disorders [10]. Furthermore, prolonged social isolation with minimal social contact, as was made necessary by the pandemic, has been shown to increase individuals' chances of developing mental health complications that include anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and insomnia [11].

With the lives of individuals changing radically in all areas, including daily routines, work and family dynamics, income, leisure, and socialization, a global concern for the mental health of individuals has emerged [4]. According to Pfefferbaum and North [12], the uncertain prospects, resource shortages, the enforcement of public health measures that resulted in infringement on individual freedoms, the financial loss brought on by the economic crisis, and the contradicting information presented by authorities triggered an increase in the prevalence of stress which, in turn, led to a heightened risk of developing mental illness during the pandemic. Since mental health issues are the result of a dynamic interplay between mental, emotional, and social factors [13], identifying these psychosocial factors is crucial to helping those already affected, as well as for mitigating—or eliminating altogether—the effects of these factors. In addition, with no clear end to the pandemic in sight, despite the approval of vaccines and their subsequent rollout, this remains an ongoing issue [14].

Accordingly, this chapter will examine the psychosocial factors brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which include depression, anxiety, and stress and their association with substance abuse, and sleep disturbances, suicidal ideation, changes in family dynamics and education, an increase in unemployment rates, and the increase in sexual and domestic violence rates. This chapter will then go on to scrutinize mitigation techniques, such as exercise, limiting exposure to the media, counseling, and maintaining social networks.
