Epidemiologists and virologists are rushing to make sense of the coronavirus and create a vaccine as quickly as possible. But another group of researchers are more worried about something different: the mental health pandemic.
We have been socially isolated from each other, all while going through levels of fear, job loss, uncertainty, and grief alone.
New studies from all around the world are coming out as to how the virus has impacted the mental health of people. Many are suffering, some of us worse than others. Though we are learning how to take care of ourselves to prevent the contraction of the virus, it is equally important for us to take care of our mental health.
Here are the reasons as to why it is so crucial for us to take care of our mental health and address it.
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We’re anxious, depressed, and traumatized
It has been found out from various studies that pandemic has induced high symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the majority of the population. Most people show serious sign of anxiety while half of them show a sign of depression. A study in China, conducted from late January to late February observed that stress, anxiety, and depression in people didn’t change during the height of the pandemic and symptoms of PTSD declined slightly after, but they were still high to be worrisome.
This shows that people aren’t getting used to the pandemic life, and it is causing serious psychological distress which leads to poor sleep pattern, creating a vicious cycle.
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We are feeling lonely
Some of us are feeling lonely because of stay-at-home orders and social distancing. However, studies have shown that people’s feelings of connection to others didn’t change much from before to during the pandemic- meaning they are showing patterns of “remarkable resilience.” People are connecting with each other through phone calls and video chats with family and friends. But there are people who are younger or living alone, or who have a chronic health condition, are feeling vulnerable and lonely.
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Domestic violence has increased
According to various news reports, there has been an increase in domestic violence against women and girls. There have been several reasons which are behind these- unemployment and other financial stressors causing conflict, people spending more time at home with abusive partners, lockdown and shelters closing doors, and police being discouraged from making arrests. All these have created the compounded effect of stress, anxiety, and fear.
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Your personality, lifestyle, and demographics compound the effects
Younger people are struggling emotionally more than older people, who are vulnerable to the virus. Younger people are more distressed, depressed, anxious, stressed, and traumatized in the era of COVID-19. Also, women are experiencing more loneliness. Though no reasons could be concluded behind these factors, some issues in women are being attributed to the added burden of caregiving and the risk of losing jobs. While for younger people, it could be the disruptions to their routine, which is making them anxious. Personality also influences how we fare and tolerate distress. People who have the ability to tolerate uncertainty and the ability to tolerate distress are faring much better in the pandemic.
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It’s worse for disadvantaged groups
People who have poor health or chronic diseases, less stable income and less education tend to have higher symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. For people who are struggling, the pandemic has created a worsened situation for them because of an uncertain financial future. People who are at the lower ladder of socio-economic are struggling more.
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Your work situation matters
This pandemic has created a differentiation between white collars and blue collars workers. While white-collar workers can work remotely at home, it is the blue-collar workers who are already at a disadvantage have to go out and work. Some people have been called back, while others are unable to continue work during the pandemic. These situations have caused distress and anxiety among the people.
How can You Care?
While you can’t control everything in your life, but there are certain things which you can control.
First, of all, it’s better to take a break from social media which has been the number one cause of making people depressed and anxious at the same time. This could be because most of the discussion was on social media-ranging from a wide range of theories; some true, some false.
It has been found that people who were spending three or more hours a day focusing on COVID-19 were more anxious. The health information you have right now is enough to reduce uncertainty and anxiety because overloading ourselves with information can be unsettling.
Besides taking breaks from the news and social media, practice basic safety and health protocols to sustain your mental health.
We can’t control the situation, and we fare better and in a pandemic, when we try to stay connected in our relationships, cope with stress in healthy ways, and find a sense of direction.