As various health experts have been attempting to understand how COVID-19 affects people in the long term, a number of psychologists and psychiatrists have reported an increase of patients requesting mental health support throughout the course of the pandemic, according to CNBC.

There have been many studies conducted regarding COVID’s impact on mental health, with one from peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet deducing that “the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment where many determinants of poor mental health are exacerbated.”

The global medical community is reporting increase in cases of anxiety and depression, as well as a worsening among patients with pre-existing issues. The good news, however, is that the aftermath of the pandemic has promopted many nations to reinforce their mental health programs.

An immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, recently organized a study to help reveal potential long-term effects of COVID. The study found that even those who experienced milder symptoms from the virus can potentially endure long-term neurological damage.

“Our most recent research was done mostly in [a] mouse model of COVID-19, where we intentionally gave mice a mild respiratory infection with SARS-CoV-2,” Iwasaki said in an interview with NBC Connecticut in January. “We measured what happens in the brain seven days and seven weeks after the infection. And what we found is that even with a very mild infection ... we still saw some significant damage in the cells of the brain."

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Tuesday that he is "deeply concerned as a parent and as a doctor that the obstacles this generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate and the impact that's having on their mental health is devastating."

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