The COVID-19 pandemic, like many of the disease outbreaks that have preceded it, is likely to have a profound effect on mental health. Understanding its impact can inform strategies for mitigating negative consequences. In this work, we seek to better understand the effects of COVID-19 on mental health by examining discussions within mental health support communities on Reddit. First, we quantify the rate at which COVID-19 is discussed in each community, or subreddit, in order to understand levels of preoccupation with the pandemic. Next, we examine the volume of activity in order to determine whether the quantity of people seeking online mental health support has risen. Finally, we analyze how COVID-19 has influenced language use and topics of discussion within each subreddit.

中文翻译：

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量化 COVID-19 对心理健康支持论坛的影响

与之前爆发的许多疾病一样，COVID-19 大流行很可能对心理健康产生深远影响。了解其影响可以为减轻负面后果的策略提供信息。在这项工作中，我们通过检查 Reddit 上心理健康支持社区内的讨论，力求更好地了解 COVID-19 对心理健康的影响。首先，我们量化了每个社区或 subreddit 中讨论 COVID-19 的速度，以了解对大流行的关注程度。接下来，我们检查活动量以确定寻求在线心理健康支持的人数是否有所增加。最后，我们分析了 COVID-19 如何影响每个 subreddit 中的语言使用和讨论主题。