Unmasking of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in a Vulnerable Preadolescent Girl due to COVID-19 Related Stress: A Case Report

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been especially hard for children and adolescent’s mental health due to their inherent vulnerabilities and added stress of lockdown, mobility restrictions, school closure, absence of peer interaction. This case report highlights the unmasking of obsessive compulsive symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic stress and the role of inherent vulnerabilities in a 11-year-old female. The management of the index case emphasised upon age appropriate strategies for intervention. Although, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) is not a stress disorder per se but the index case highlights the role of stress in manifestation of mental illness in vulnerable individuals favouring the biopsychosocial model for mental illness.