Psychological disturbances of survivors throughout COVID-19 crisis: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: In addition to physical problems, patients with COVID-19 suffer from considerable stress throughout the disease crisis. It is important to address mental health needs and not to ignore the psychological dimension in this group of patients. In this regard, the first practical step is to have a clear understanding of patients’ psychological issues. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the psychological disturbances of COVID-19 survivors throughout the disease crisis. METHOD: This qualitative study was conducted using a phenomenological approach through 14 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with patients recovered from COVID-19. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. RESULTS: Three themes of “living in limbo”, “psychological distress behind the wall” and “psychological burden of being a carrier” were extracted as the psychological disturbances of COVID-19 survivors throughout the disease crisis. CONCLUSION: This study portrayed a better understanding of psychological disturbances of COVID-19 survivors throughout the disease crisis based on their lived experiences. Given the ambiguity in the time of the disease eradication and its continuing course, a deep understanding of these experiences in the current critical situation can help healthcare officials to make appropriate decisions and take measures to assess and identify psychological traumas and perform interventions to improve the mental state of these patients.