Curated thematic collection on COVID-19 and mental health

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public and academic discourse on mental health was frequently framed in pathological terms, emphasising psychological damage and the need for intervention. However, critical and contextual explorations of the pandemic’s psychological impact reveal far more diverse perspectives, showing that experiences of distress, coping, and well-being were shaped by local histories, socio-political conditions, and cultural frameworks rather than universal psychiatric categories alone.

This thematic collection brings together psychiatric, anthropological, and non-scientific publications, as well as mental health–related narratives, which engage with the psychological effects of COVID-19. Rather than presenting a singular account of the “pandemic mental health”, the collection offers curated excerpts that illustrate the varied ways psychological experiences of the pandemic were conceptualised, constructed, and influenced by social, cultural, and political variables within different national contexts.

The materials focus on five countries which constituted the project’s case studies – China, Colombia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Russia – and are organised thematically to foreground both shared concerns and contextual differences.

Importantly, this collection presents research and materials that go beyond English-language journals and Global North academic centres.

Themes

Pandemic Affect: The Politicisation of Feelings in a Global Health Crisis

This thematic cluster examines how individual and collective emotional responses to COVID-19 were deeply embedded in local socio-political contexts. This theme demonstrates how specific feelings became central and acceptable to state responses and political projects, revealing the role of affect in governing populations during the pandemic.

Peace of Mind: Mental Health, Peacebuilding, and Pandemic Governance

The theme explores how mental health discourses were mobilised as part of broader peacebuilding and social order strategies. Rather than focusing solely on individual well-being, this theme shows how notions of mental health were positioned as political goals, shaping public messaging and governance during the pandemic.

Languages of suffering: Transcultural constructions of suffering, pain, and healing during the pandemic

This theme explores how suffering was articulated and understood during the pandemic across different cultural settings. Drawing on literature from the five countries, this theme highlights divergences between clinical and lay constructions and interpretations of distress, and examines how these differing narratives shaped responses to suffering and healing during a period of crisis.

Alternative forms of mental healing / Arts and Covid-19 Mental Health

This theme highlights creative, cultural, and non-biomedical approaches to coping, healing, and recovery. This theme brings together diverse practices – whether aligned with or resistant to dominant mental health discourses – to show how individuals and communities sought meaning, relief, and prevention in response to the pandemic’s challenges.

Together, these themes demonstrate that the psychological impact of COVID-19 cannot be understood outside its cultural, historical, and political contexts. The database offers a valuable resource for mental health researchers, humanities scholars, and public health professionals interested in the diversity of pandemic experiences and the multiple ways psychological distress, resilience, and recovery were imagined and enacted across different settings.