Mental Health & Coronavirus
- Jake K. Newell
- Mar 18, 2020
- 8 min read
Pretty much everyone knows the world is currently facing a difficult time with the pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). As we can imagine, the response has been varied. Many countries (including: Spain, France, Germany, Hungary and Italy amongst them) have some form of restriction on travel or entry into the countries. Furthermore, there have been instances where schools have been closed and people have been told to work from home in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19. Understandably, COVID-19 has led to panic amongst many people for a number of reasons: loss of earnings, loss of jobs, businesses going under, not being able to pay bills and the loss of loved ones, amongst them. In this post, I want to cover how to cope with heightened anxiety during periods of: working from home, self-isolation and social distancing. I would also like to explore options regarding self-care, which is becoming even more important at this time. I'm grateful for the comments that I have received over the past week and a bit, which have given me the inspiration to put together this post.
What are "Working From Home", "Self-Isolation" and "Social Distancing"?
"Working From Home" (also commonly referred to as "WFH" on social media) is simply doing your job from home. This could apply to people working in a wide set of arrangements and ultimately sees employees either dividing their time between home and the office, or workers using their home as an administrative base to carry out their jobs. The number of persons currently working from home has significantly increased recently.
"Self-Isolation" is the idea of completely cutting yourself off from the rest of the world. For example, in the UK, if one person in a household starts to display flu-like symptoms (which has been defined as: "a fever of above 37.8C or a persistent cough"), everyone living there must stay at home for 14 days. Self-isolation can therefore be seen to be akin to a house arrest.
"Social Distancing" is a self-explanatory term; it's essentially the idea that we try to avoid contact with other people. As a result of avoiding contact with others, it naturally means spending less time in public places. It is a less-intense version of self-isolation in that people are permitted to be out in public, just less often.
How do I combat my spiralling mental health (MH) issues from COVID-19, when they are so wide-reaching and affect so many aspects of my life?
I will be completely honest with you: there is no one singular prescribed formula in how to address MH issues from: COVID-19, self-isolation and social distancing. Like many things in life, it is relative to the person and down to their personal preferences/comforts as to how they manage their triggers. I have written about general approaches to tackling MH issues, which can be found on the following topics (all hyperlinked for your reference): medication, balancing life and self-care, therapy, and my own experiences of 'down days'.
To be blunt: the situation is real and it is scary; please please please do not feel like that you are thinking nonsense. It is completely natural to feel uneasy in such circumstances. I completely understand that COVID-19 can really exacerbate pre-existing MH issues. Below are my experiences with MH issues stemming from COVID-19 and how I attempt to address them. It is my hope that a combination of the above links and my experiences will help. If you do want to talk through options in more detail with me, please feel free to contact me via social media or via this website - I'd be delighted to help.
I'd be lying if I said I was not going through it right now. The first thing that hits me is this: I'm a self-employed County Court Advocate. If the courts were to close, that is my entire livelihood gone for an indefinite period of time. This has also made me worry about the level of work after the virus is dealt with - I have to ask myself whether my contract would still be able to go on. I'm lucky in that I've basically saved as much as I can for a rainy day fund, however, that will only last for so long. My personal approach to dealing with this is to talk openly with my friends in the same profession. They are the ones who will share the same fate. They are the ones will understand. I find that this can work for both employed and self-employed persons alike; do not simply bottle everything up. I also understand the concerns in the long-term, but my current approach is to not get too bogged down in that because it will just lead to me feeling overwhelmed, thus making my anxiety even worse. At the time of writing, a number of governments have frozen payments for things such as mortgages, rent and bills in an attempt to help those who are losing income. There are also options akin to government spending to help support struggling businesses. As a last resort, it may be possible to rely on the welfare state, should you ever (and hopefully never) need it.
The second thing I've been panicking about, which I think is almost universal in this circumstance is health anxiety: what will I do if I catch COVID-19? Will I be okay? I found that this is particularly triggered when on the way to court, especially when I'm going through London. I think it has something to do with the sheer numbers of the people on trains and the tube etc. Again, it is completely reasonable. We don't understand COVID-19 fully yet. The precautions that I've taken are practical: I carry hand sanitiser with me and use it whenever I shake hands, touch a door handle or hold onto something on the tube. I've seen other people take precautions including face masks and/or surgical gloves. All of these options will help reduce the transmission of the virus, and also have the added advantage of giving YOU the control that you want in this situation. We need to remember that a lot of anxiety stems from feeling 'out of control'; therefore if we curb that initial issue, the resulting symptoms will be less severe.
The final big thing for me at the moment is I ask myself: what about my family and friends? This, out of the three big ones, is probably the easiest to address: communicate. I live with my family, so this is not too much of an issue. However, my nan (who is well into her 80's - yes, she's a fighter, so you know where I get it from now!) lives on her own. If you have any older relatives, please check in with them. Call them to see if they need any supplies. Call them to see how they're feeling. We can find this being a struggle when surrounded by family, so we need to give extra consideration to those who are vulnerable and may be on their own. In terms of my friends, I'm also very lucky. I speak to my friends from football, university, the Bar and gaming on a daily basis to make sure that they're all doing okay. I've found that talking openly about the situation and having catch ups can help reduce your worry not only with their well-being, but also the situation as a whole.
Do you have any self-care ideas whilst undertaking self-isolating or social distancing?
I will be the first to admit: the idea of being stuck at home with very little opportunity is one which would render me insane. It would be hell on Earth. I know that I can be introverted, but I don't like the idea of being confined to spaces. As many of you know, I like to go out and play football. It probably doesn't help that there is nothing by way of professional sport at the moment, either. I also enjoy a good coffee whilst reading, watching the world go by, merrily in its own way. None of this is doable in the current situation. The stress of staying at home during this pandemic is, again, completely understandable.
The following are ideas which I've been tinkering with in an attempt to make sure my MH does not suffer during this time:
Do not stay in the same room for the entire day. Ideally, you would want to move about the house a bit, this will tend to help with mood. If you were to stay in bed all day, that would cause problems with 'sleep hygiene', and thus could have a knock on effect with your sleep cycle. This would compound any MH issues currently being experienced. I would also suggest opening a window so that there is some form of fresh air circulating the property.
Eat cleaner food: there is a link between diet and MH issues. Do make sure you consume your 5 a day. This will give your body the nutrients it needs and will also make you feel a lot better generally; processed foods typically result in a feeling of fatigue/lesser energy. Two potential options for those who wish to top up their vitamin and mineral intake would be to consider using either Berocca (which I already do) or Centrum.
Have regard to your a hygiene: a clean body is a happy body! I find there is nothing better than a red hot shower to help me feel better mentally; you come out feeling a lot more refreshed.
Don't spend all day looking at screens: read a book. I find that reading can really help with your imagination and provide a much needed escape from reality - sometimes it's nice to get away from the world's problems once in a while.
Talk to friends. The brilliant thing about the current state of technology is that we can talk to our friends all over the world. Keep in touch with your friends, whether it's a text conversation, phone call/facetime, snapchat or the infamous group chat - make the most of them and keep your spirits up by sharing those memes or tagging friends in funny animal videos!
This might be a bit of an obvious one, but doing household chores may help. By doing these routine tasks, you're taking your mind off of things, being productive and in turn, creating a better environment for you to live in. The science of Ergonomics suggests that tidier/clearer room tend to allow people to enjoy the given environment more, thus providing a better overall experience. It seems mutually reinforcing: a cleaner area will make you feel better and make you want to do more, which will then mean you can do more tasks and not feel like you're wasting your time.
Meditate. I use the 'calm' app. The sound of running water is something that for some unknown reason, can help me get out of a really bad frame of mind. If you do download the app (which is free but has in-app purchases), there are a number of scenes and exercises to try. Meditation will help clear your mind, bring you into focus and give your body some time to recover during this very stressful time.
Try your hand at a new skill. This could be absolutely anything, whether it's: learning a language, studying a new field, designing something, learning an instrument or anything you can think of. This can help you make the most of your extra free time and help you feel like you're being productive whilst either self-isolating or socially-distancing from others. It also has the advantage of giving you something new to look forward to, giving you much needed variation and distracting you from the goings on in the world.
If you are NOT self-isolating, I would suggest going for a walk or a run in a secluded area nearby, if possible. The additional movement/activity and access to fresh air has been scientifically proven to help with one's mood through the release of hormones and endorphins. If you ARE self-isolating, I would perhaps suggest standing in the garden, or alternatively, on the balcony to take the view in.
Useful Links
As usual, I've provided a series of links below which I hope will helpful. They cover both general information regarding COVID-19, but also have some dedicated MH material also:
I really do hope that this post is helpful. I apologise for the length of it, but felt that it was best to tackle everything related to COVID-19 in one hit. As usual, I am open to suggestions for future posts. I will also keep a COVID-19 theme going until the pandemic becomes controlled. Please do take care of yourselves and each other.
Finally, I need you to remember something important: you are a beautiful human being. You are loved. You matter. You have so much good that you can offer this world. Be the difference.
Until next time,
J x
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