The most common ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic affects mental health

Nothing particularly out of the ordinary happened on the day it broke completely. Well, in addition to entering the seventh month of a terrible global pandemic.

It was October. As a wellness editor, I’ve been covering COVID-19 and following each daily update only. When I wasn’t thinking about stories about transmission and how to protect ourselves, I was meticulously monitoring vaccine development and death rates.

Outside of work, I was also thinking about these facts and how they applied to all facets of my life. I became the trusted source for my loved ones about the coronavirus, which means that questions about it dominated most of our conversations. I was having nightmares about being in public without a mask and waking up with headaches that made it difficult to see properly.

I kept telling myself that I was lucky and that my fears were exaggerated, even though my body was telling me differently. Nobody I knew died. I was not working in an emergency room like some of my closest friends. What right do I have to break?

“You are dealing with trauma,” my therapist said gently during our session that day, noting that I had been traumatized to some degree for more than 200 days in a row – and probably would continue. She was right; I’m still working on it as I write this, and I’ll probably still be there for months.

Many of us have experienced changes in our mental health in the past year. People who have lived with mental health problems throughout their lives are finding that they are changing in ways they did not expect. Others, who did not think their emotional well-being was at risk, are seeking therapy, perhaps for the first time. Mental health professionals are struggling to keep up with the demand for their knowledge.

The mental cost of this health crisis cannot be underestimated. It also manifests itself in different ways. Although I may be dealing with trauma, someone else is navigating other difficult issues – perhaps even more than one.

Here are some of the most common mental health problems that therapists are seeing because of the pandemic:

Depression has always been a common mental health problem, but “what is different is the intensity and number of people who have these symptoms,” said Alfiee Breland-Noble, a psychologist based in Washington, DC and founder of the non-profit organization mental health, the AAKOMA Project.

“It is compounded by the isolation, the loneliness, the lack of activities that normally keep people functioning well,” she said. “Once the isolation hit us – probably after the first three or four months, when we started to realize that it wasn’t going to go away anytime soon – that’s when the floodgates really started to open.”

We all experience anxiety to some degree in normal life, but the pandemic has aggravated it beyond the control of many people. Some may be hyperconscious of their own body, tracking each symptom and wondering if it is COVID-19. Many may be concerned about their financial situation. Others may be struggling with all the uncertainty that the pandemic has introduced. Last year’s circumstances put us in an elevated state of chronic stress, said Jessica Gold, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington in St Louis.

“In something like a pandemic, where we are basically in a constant state of uncertainty, we are always searching our environment for threats and also always fleeing from them,” she said. “There is a limit so that you can run a marathon without your body giving way, and especially with an ever-changing finish line, as we did during the pandemic.”

More than half a million people died of COVID-19, leaving millions in mourning. That alone is devastating. We are also mourning the loss of certainty and structure, said Sheva Rajaee, a psychotherapist and director of the Center for Anxiety and OCD.

“While the pandemic itself may end, it is important to consider the economic, social and cultural consequences of what the past year has meant for our mental health and what it will mean in the future. Job losses affect our mental health in significant ways, as well as political and cultural instability, ”said Rajaee. “Dealing with pain and loss, whether it is the loss of a loved one to COVID-19 or the loss of our expectations of what our lives would have been like if the pandemic had not occurred, will need to be addressed and prosecuted.”

Trauma comes in many forms – you don’t have to physically witness a horrible event to feel its effects on mental health. Watching the increase in cases, losing your job, being exposed to the virus and more can all contribute to the trauma.

“We don’t talk enough about how this pandemic was basically a major traumatic event, with many small traumas inside it. … There are a lot of people suffering because of it now, ”said Gold.

And, of course, those who work on the front lines or have personal experience with COVID-19 are dealing with trauma in style.

“I see healthcare workers and they struggle with what they had to see in their day-to-day jobs – so much death, so much suffering and not being able to help,” said Gold. “Others I see are struggling to watch their loved ones die of COVID-19 on an iPad because they were unable to visit them.”

We have heard daily how dangerous it is to be around other people and strongly encouraged to isolate ourselves from others. In some cases, this contributed to a real aversion to being in crowded places. Rajaee said he has seen more cases of agoraphobia – which is fear and avoidance of crowded and public places – in his clinic because of the pandemic.

“MSubtle occurrences, like going to the supermarket or seeing a friend in the park, have become matters of life and death, moral battlegrounds where we must make choices that seem to have very real consequences, ”she said. “We spent the past year teaching our brains that the world and other people are not safe.”

“Things like substance use have increased because people often resort to quick and pleasurable coping skills to deal with the range of emotions, and when working at home, access to the kitchen is easy,” said Gold.

A recent report by the American Psychological Association found that people increased substance use in the past year as a way to deal with the stress of the pandemic. Overdoses have also increased.

The same pleasure derived from substance use can also contribute to binge eating behaviors, Gold said. “On the other hand, restricting food intake has also increased because when the world seems out of control, sometimes people resort to coping mechanisms to regain control, and that is the only thing you can control: food and food. that you put in your body. “

Unfortunately, in many cases, people are dealing with various mental health problems to varying degrees. After all, we have all been exposed to losses, anxiety, uncertainty, isolation and more.

“The pandemic causes many mental health problems because it is a sea of ​​aggravated stressors, ”said Gold. “We often say that a stressor generally does not cause someone to ‘get depressed’, but it can be what – along with the rest of your family history, background and physical symptoms – pushes you from the edge of mental health to depression or anxiety in era. This pandemic is like a boiler for that. “

“I would tell anyone who is struggling now that I want you to know that – even if we can’t be physically together – I see you, I hear you and I value you,” said Breland-Noble. “I feel that people need to hear this message, they need to know that they are not alone.”

She recommended finding a safe person in your life to trust. This could be a therapist, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. Just someone you trust, be it a friend, family member, co-worker or someone from an online support group.

And speaking of the internet, “make sure that what you’re reading, consuming and watching is good for your mental health,” said Breland-Noble. “Organize your news. Of course you want to be informed, but there is a way to do this while taking care. This may mean that you need to understand when you need to watch a story unfold live or when you need to read it later. “

Finally, know that what you are experiencing is a normal reaction to a completely abnormal situation. And while there is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan, there are professional and expert resources available to help you find what works best for you. If your mental health problems are drastically affecting your daily life, please seek help. It is very, very worth it.

I know that the trauma that I endured will not magically evaporate the second we return to normal (if we are going to do it). One day we will take off our masks, but what we suffer will last. However, with the right help and coping strategies, it will not always seem so heavy.

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 at National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also send a text message to HOME to 741-741 for free, Crisis Text Line 24-hour support. Outside the USA, please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention to obtain a database of resources.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

Need help with substance use disorder or mental health problems? In the USA, call 800-662-HELP (4357) to SAMHSA National Helpline.