SARS-CoV-2 and Asbestos Exposure: Can Our Experience With Mesothelioma Patients Help Us Understand the Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Develop Interventions?

Abstract

Since its emergence, the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has had enormous physical, social, and psychological impacts worldwide. The aim of this article was to identify elements of our knowledge on asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma (MM) that can provide insight into the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and be used to develop adequate interventions. Although the etiology of Covid-19 and MM differs, their psychological impacts have common characteristics: in both diseases, there is a feeling of being exposed through aerial contagion to an “invisible killer” without boundaries that can strike even the strongest individuals. In both cases, affected persons can experience personality dysfunction, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic symptoms; helplessness, hopelessness, and projection of destructive thoughts onto external forces often emerge, while defense mechanisms such as denial, splitting, repression, and reduced emotional expression are used by individuals to contain their overwhelming anxieties. We believe that in both diseases, an integrated multidimensional intervention offered by hospitals and other public health services is the most effective approach to alleviating patients’ and caregivers’ psychological distress. In particular, we emphasize that in the context of both MM and COVID-19, Brief Psychoanalytic Group therapy can help patients and caregivers attribute meaning to the significant changes in their lives related to the experience of the disease and identify adaptive strategies and more realistic relational modalities to deal with what has happened to them. We also highlight the importance of developing a surveillance system that includes individual anamnestic evaluation of occupational risk factors for COVID-19 disease.

Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress, and Burnout in Health Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing Mental Health Professionals and Other Healthcare Workers

“…In the initial absence of a vaccine, quarantine has been implemented as one of the most effective measures to reduce transmission risk. The disease itself, fear of contagion, and the different containment measures have significantly affected people's occupational and social lives, as well as their physical health and psychological wellbeing [1]. A pandemic can place severe strain on general mental health resources, potentially leading to untreated mental health issues [2][3][4].…”

Commentary: SARS-CoV-2 and Asbestos Exposure: Can Our Experience With Mesothelioma Patients Help Us Understand the Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Develop Interventions?

“…A Commentary on SARS-CoV-2 and Asbestos Exposure: Can Our Experience With Mesothelioma Patients Help Us Understand the Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Develop Interventions? by Granieri, A., Bonafede, M., Marinaccio, A., Iavarone, I., Marsili, D., andFranzoi, I. G. (2020). Front.…”

“…Psychol. 11:584320. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584320 Recently, Granieri et al (2020) highlighted multiple similarities between COVID-19 and Malignant Mesothelioma (MM). Here, we argue that despite the relevant similarities between these two conditions, their differences-including aetiology, infection pattern, chronological course, physical symptoms, and prognosis-outweigh their similarities.…”

Editorial: Psychological Distress Among University Students

“…In these times, we have also to consider the impact of the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, that aroused fears and anxiety globally, leading to an upsurge in the incidence and severity of mental health problems (Granieri et al, 2020;Serafini et al, 2020;Xiong et al, 2020). Indeed, covid-19 pandemic caused a massive interruption in the lives and education of university students worldwide, entailing prolonged school closure, transition to internet-based learning, and social isolation from peers during state-enforced quarantine (Bourion-Bédès et al, 2021;Sun et al, 2021).…”