*2.3. General Mental Status (GMH)*

The validated Arabic version of the 8-item section with Cronbach's alpha of 0.70 was used to explore the basic mental profile of the participants during this pandemic. The items included were perceived depression status during the pandemic, medication used to control psychological burden, soliciting psychologist help, participation in mental health program during the pandemic, joining audio broadcast of mental health issues, initiating stress reliever exercise, nightmares during the pandemic and developing bad habits. The response for each question was scored 0 (no) and 1 (yes). A cutoff of ≥3 was used to reflect abnormal mental status.
