The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Rumination as an Overlooked Psychopathological Mechanism

Abstract

For over a year, the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been humanity’s greatest public health issue. During this time, clinicians and researchers worldwide have reported on the negative psychological impact due to safety measures that were implemented to curb the spread of this deadly disease (i.e., closing businesses, working from home, social distancing, quarantine, etc.). However, most of the published research about this topic has focused on complications to instrumental functioning (e.g., job loss, reduced income, shortages of supplies, increased child-care burdens, etc.), and how they lead to increased distress and reduced well-being. In contrast, little research has investigated how pandemic life has changed how we think about ourselves, our circumstances, and our futures, or how these cognitive factors have led to worsened mental health. In this article, we reviewed the literature on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a major focus on the overlooked cognitive process of rumination (i.e., repetitive thinking about oneself and one’s problems). We explained how rumination translated pandemic-related stress into psychopathological outcomes such as increased depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and substance misuse. We also recommended strategies for mitigating the negative effects of pandemic-related rumination and provided recommendations for future directions regarding pandemic-related mental health research.