Case Study: Psychology of COVID-19 - Emotional Distress, Coping, Exams

This psychology case study delves into the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals' lives, focusing on emotional distress, coping strategies, and the challenges and benefits of open-book exams. The assignment explores the fear and anxiety associated with the disease, the economic and social disruptions, and the loss of life. It identifies strategies for managing emotional distress, such as mindfulness, distraction, seeking professional help, and social support. The case study also analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of open-book exams, considering their impact on critical thinking, knowledge application, and exam anxiety. References from credible sources support the analysis, offering a comprehensive understanding of the pandemic's psychological impact and potential solutions for mitigating its negative effects.

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How people’s lives affected by covid-19 pandemic? My thoughts
Novel corona virus also known as covid-19 is a respiratory disease affecting human and
can be transmitted through contact. Disease is characterized by coughs, fever, sneezing and
difficulty in breathing. Since its breakout in Wuhan China, the disease has wreaked havoc to
human lives in most countries. Economy has been affected tremendously; government has come
up with measures to ensure people maintain social distance and personal hygiene to curb further
spread. Therefore, people have been forced to stay at home, some losing their jobs as some
companies are forced to close down (Bendtsen Cano, Cano Morales, & Bendtsen, 2020).
Pandemic has also led to lose of human lives in parts of the world especially Europe and
America.
How people are emotionally affected by covid-19 pandemic?
Emotionally people have been affected negatively due to this pandemic. Fear has been
demonstrated among families, workers and community at large. People are going through
anxiety of not knowing how the situation will turn out, people are not sure if and when the
situation will come to normalcy. There is an element of sadness among the families that have
lost their loved ones. Despite losing their family members, they have also been traumatized by
the restrictions that only allow them to bury within 48 hours and with a minimum of only ten to
fifteen people. In this regard, some friends and families have ended up missing the chance to pay
their last respect to the dead people close to them.
Six strategies that could help people cope with emotional distress.
Due to negative impacts covid-19 has subjected human lives to, therefore, there is need
for one to come up with strategies to cope up with challenges posed by its effects. One can

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practice mindfulness as a way of coping with the situation by accepting the facts, being hopeful
and projecting into the future. It is advisable for one to be positive during this trying moment.
You can distract yourself by having fun, satisfying mental challenge to lessen emotional pain.
Block off some times by allocating few hours to think of your situations fully and mull over
solutions (Feki, 2018).
It is also advisable to engage therapist to help you work through your emotional issues, as
you share issues, there effects lessen just as the say goes ‘a problem share is a problem half
solved’. One can also resort to talk to a friend, colleague or a family member whom they trust.
Through this, one can get the comfort and emotional support. During this pandemic it is also
advisable to practice meditation by channeling your thoughts, choosing positive thoughts and in
the process eliminating some emotional stress. Finally, one can deal with emotional stress by
having a rest and a long night sleep. This would help in improving physical and mental health of
the affected individuals.
What are the challenges and benefits of “open book” exams?
Open book exam (OBE) is a form of assessment where students are allowed to use their
learning materials while writing their exams (Mohanna & Patel, 2015). It has various challenges
that comes with it: students are not able to think as they answer questions since they have
reference materials with them. Students also will not study as they know they would simply copy
from the books that have at their disposal in exam rooms. It would also have negative impacts on
standard of education system. Imagine a surgeon referring to book while performing surgery on
patients, pilots referring on their notes to fly an airplane, it would be disastrous.

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However, on student’s point of view this system would be advantageous to them in a
number of ways. One, it promotes skill of critical and creative thinking. There is no exam
anxiety and there is an element of trained mind. Secondly, students are able to apply their
knowledge rather than memorizing concepts. They are able to apply their skills which is
fundamental in real life situations. Finally, the capacity of leaning would significantly improve.
Most students will not shy away from joining schools as they are aware challenges to do with
exam anxiety will not arise as this is one of the element prompting school dropouts.

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References
Bendtsen Cano, O., Cano Morales, S., & Bendtsen, C. (2020). COVID-19 Modelling: The
Effects of Social Distancing. doi:10.1101/2020.03.29.20046870
Feki, A. (2018). Emotional Distress, Alexithymia and Coping Strategies in Newly Diagnosed
Patients with Cancer. doi:10.26226/morressier.5a6ef3efd462b80290b5844a
Mohanna, K., & Patel, A. (2015). undefined. 2015 Fifth International Conference on e-
Learning (econf). doi:10.1109/econf.2015.81