Negative memory bias and the risk of emotional disorders under Covid-19 pandemic

This article aims to elucidate the correlations between negative memory bias and the risk of emotional disorders. It was established from previous studies that some emotional diroders such as depression and anxiety can be produced by cognitive bias, particularly negative memory bias, in which the person tends to encode, store and retrieve negative information and life memories. The activation of memory bias correlates with stress produced by a crisis like that under which we live nowdays. The changes in our everyday life caused by the Coronavirus pandemic are likely to generate stress that activates, in some people, negative memory bias which is a risk factor for their mental health. It was deduced from diverse data that memory bias weakens emotional regulation, and that engender an emotional distress that can yield the first symptoms of emotional disorders or their recurrence. It's found that negative memory bias constitutes a main cause of emotional disorders, given that the interaction between cognitive schemas and the stressful situation leads to a selective bias to encode, store and retrieve negative or threatening information, which creates a vicious circle that deteriorates the individual's ability to regulate his emotions.