Theres one question that New York City psychologist and anxiety specialist Amelia Aldao has heard almost every day from her clients since the coronavirus pandemic began: When is this all going to end?

That question creates a lot of anxiety, Aldao told HuffPost. This uncertainty were all experiencing makes us seek more reassurance and certainty. Because thats not possible, it just makes us feel more anxious.

Were all feeling it. In fact, New York City psychologist Andy Schwehm said some of his clients who have not experienced a lot of trauma or hardships in the past have been the most rocked by the public health crisis. Meanwhile, many of his clients with previous trauma are doing remarkably well.

One of them even said, Now everyone sees what its like to be me every day, he told HuffPost.

Regardless of your mental and emotional well-being prior to the pandemic, Aldao and Schwehm worry that the pandemic and quarantine will have long-reaching effects on peoples mental health.

Right now of course, everyone is going through his or her own way of coping with this, Schwehm said. Although its important to remember that we can only control what we can control, there are going to be a lot of unknowns for a long time.

Below, Schwehm and other experts shared five ways the COVID-19 crisis and social distancing in particular might affect our collective mental well-being.

1. Some people may develop post-traumatic stress disorder

Many people hear the acronym PTSD and their thoughts immediately turn to veterans. But PTSD can be triggered by nearly any distressing event : sexual assault, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, a bad car accident, mass shootings, a global pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic is a particularly traumatic experience for a number of reasons, Aldao said, including fear of catching the virus and the economic impact on people. She also said social distancing measures can alter peoples mental health in a profound way.

Theres an inherent grief that comes with social distancing and how our social lives have changed drastically and will continue to change over time, Aldao said. Plus, again, theres that additional element that makes this crisis particularly traumatic: We dont know when its going to end. We ask ourselves, When is my city reopening? When can my kids go back to school? When will I be able to travel again? and so on. Theres great uncertainty, which in turn fuels our anxiety and increases our stress level. That can easily cause trauma.

Elyssa Barbash , a psychologist in Tampa, Florida, said she is also concerned about PTSD-like symptoms among her clients who have been stuck at home.

When we talk about the future, many clients are saying theyre hesitant to come into the office even though we are able to maintain the 6-foot social distancing guidelines, Barbash told HuffPost. There is noticeably increased awareness and anxiety about germs, contamination, fear over the unknown, sadness and grief over the significant changes in lifestyle, particularly not being able to do things as easily and carelessly as we previously have.