Psychological distress and the experience of self-restrained lifestyle through COVID-19 in Japan – public insights from #Coronavirus-depression on Twitter

Introduction

In Japan, lockdowns were imposed in April 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19. Many Japanese citizens have taken their mental health concerns to Twitter, a social media platform with 45 million monthly Japanese users. This study investigates the themes of tweets related to mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

Methods

We analysed the themes of tweets (n = 1734) collected in May 2020 using the #corona-depression [#コロナうつ] trending hashtag in Japan.

Results & Discussion

Tweets were classified into four main themes: i) feeling depressed, as expected (41%), ii) anxiety/fears (17%), iii) lifestyle issues (46%), and iv) positivity (15%). In theme I, over 2/3 were about the loss of sleep/not getting out of bed. Others tweeted about crying (5%) loss of interest in activities or energy (18%), and suicidality (10%), all of which corresponded with symptoms in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Among the tweets about frustration in lifestyle consequences, many (64%) expressed distress due to social isolation and the restrained lifestyle. Essential workers were fearful of being exposed to infection (13%), while others expressed distress from the loss of employment (11%). Housewives expressed the increased burden (e.g. homeschooling) with comments of being burn-out (11%). Despite the situation, some users used the platform to provide/gain support by sharing advice for staying positive (15%).

Conclusions

Pandemics and lockdowns have significant mental health impacts on the community. Continue monitoring is needed to determine whether these effects are temporary or long-term.