The constant mutation of the coronavirus during the COVID-19 caused enough anxiety and panic, as well as a decline in an otherwise healthy economy. As the economy continued to decline, more and more people had to face the risks and anxiety associated with unemployment. Dysthymia, also known as dissociative disorder, is a complex group of psycho-physical disorders in which, during the course of the illness, the patient manifests involuntary and intermittent loss of the ability to integrate some or all of the psycho-physical functions and is unable to achieve unity in the areas of perception, memory, emotion, behavior and self-awareness.

A series of research studies were conducted to investigate the manifestation and treatment of hysteria among the unemployed as a result of the economic recession in the wake of the COVID-19. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy was used to treat the hysterical condition of the unemployed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to investigate the mental health of the unemployed in a region before and after the epidemic. 56 valid questionnaires were returned, excluding those that were not standardized. The 56 individuals were randomly divided into two equal groups and the subjects in the experimental group were treated with rational emotive behavior therapy, while the subjects in the control group were treated with general psychotherapy. A self-administered psychological assessment scale was used to score the mental health of the subjects before and after the treatment. The scale included indicators of perception, memory, emotion, behavior and self-awareness.

The degree of self-awareness retained by the two groups of subjects under the self-awareness index was selected for analysis before and after the experiment. The results in Table 1 show that the number of subjects in the experimental group with high, low and no self-awareness were 0, 9 and 19 respectively before the rational emotive behavior treatment; after the treatment, their numbers changed to 5, 21 and 2. On the contrary, the number of subjects in the control group before the general psychotherapy was 0, 7 and 21; after the treatment, their numbers changed to 1, 15 and 12.Table 1.

The degree of retention of self-awareness in the two groups of subjects before and after the experiment

Through questionnaires and a comparative experimental setup, it was demonstrated that the hysteria of unemployed people caused by the economic recession in the context of the COVID-19 manifested itself in the areas of perception, memory, emotion, behavior and self-awareness. The use of rational emotive behavioral therapy was able to treat their hysteria phenomenon and alleviate their psychological state of low or even no self-awareness.