Book Description

This Research Topic is part of our Regional Perspectives series. Other regionally focused collections in this series: Assessing and Evaluating the Impact of The Covid-19 Pandemic on Anxiety and Stress: Perspectives from Eastern Europe and Central Asia Assessing and Evaluating the Impact of The Covid-19 Pandemic on Anxiety and Stress: Perspectives from North America Assessing and Evaluating the Impact of The Covid-19 Pandemic on Anxiety and Stress: Perspectives from South America Assessing and Evaluating the Impact of The Covid-19 Pandemic on Anxiety and Stress: Perspectives from the Indian Sub-Continent The Covid-19 pandemic has unduly affected the mental health care system and mental health well-being of people globally due to a plethora of potential impacts on our own health, health care systems, and the economy amongst others. While waves of Covid-19 fluctuate globally, challenges to providing appropriate mental health care services and developing effective solutions in terms of prevention and treatment for anxiety and stress-related disorders remain major concerns. As the pandemic initially spread from East Asia, countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea were the first countries to be impacted by COVID-19, leading to certain levels of economic recessions and posing threats to society. In China, 53.8% of the respondents reported a moderate or severe psychological impact of the pandemic (Wang et al, 2020). In Japan, 11.5% of adult respondents experienced serious psychological distress and the prevalence of depression was 17.9% (Yamamoto, 2020). In South Korea, 45% of the 400 residents expressed clinical levels of depression, anxiety, or stress (Lee, 2021). Hence, more efforts and concerns should be generated to support public mental health. As a regional historical unit, East Asian countries and regions share similar cultures and to varying degrees influenced by Confucianism. Therefore, both adults and children tend to hold high levels of academic and career expectations, resulting in overwhelming academic and job stress. Considering the segregation policy, students and employees had to be separated from schools and workplaces. While there are several side effects of online study and work, which would be detrimental to individuals residing in East Asia.