'I just snapped': COVID-19 patient describes psychological breakdown

Researchers tracked more than 230,000 COVID-19 patients and found a third had neurological or psychological effects.

One local woman said she went from having no chronic health conditions to serious mental distress.

"I just snapped, just something snapped," said the woman, identified as "Sara" to conceal her identity.

COVID-19 hit Sara, a mental health clinician, like a sucker punch. What started as cold-like symptoms and a positive test last fall turned into physical and mental distress.

Her husband, identified as "John," watched the spiral.

"I felt absolutely helpless," he said. "My wife was sick in bed. She was not acting herself, and she said this was her last day on earth."

John became desperate when his wife lost rational thinking, refused to go to the hospital and lashed out at him, even smashing a laptop.

"It was a person that was agitated. It was a person that was not coherent," he said.

"I feel like I definitely had a deterioration of my cognitive function," Sara said when asked if she thought the virus caused a mental breakdown.

John ultimately called an ambulance and law enforcement to get Sara the help she needed. However, they say, even the local hospital was ill-prepared.

"The lady that entered the hospital that day was an extremely complex, sick woman that needed a complete assessment, and it was not done," John said.

"There can be physical damage to the brain because of COVID," East Carolina University immunologist Rachel Roper said.

The psychological side-effects speak to the serious complexity of the virus, Roper said.

"Maybe you think, if you get COVID, you’re going to be OK, you’re going to survive it. But you may have long-lasting mental health effects or even dementia from getting COVID," she said. "So, that’s another reason to get the vaccine."

Doctors told Sara she had brain swelling and now, months later, she’s in the "long hauler" category of patients with lingering joint pain, lung damage, mental fatigue and anxiety.

"I’m not the same person metabolically that I was prior to COVID," she said.

John agreed that his wife isn’t the same as before the virus.

"Now, she loses things, forgets things. Her memory is not well," he said.

Sara said she hopes her struggles send a clear message to others about an unpredictable and dangerous disease.

"COVID doesn’t discriminate," she said. "In my case, something more happened. Something more happened that really reduced my ability to manage my emotions, to have rational thought processes to myself. It was terrifying."