The Mental Trauma Of Pandemics – Keeping Depression At Bay
The Coronavirus pandemic has quickly become a psychologically traumatic experience for all our communities around the world, filling us with fear, anxiety and depression.
We are unable to interact with other people, which leaves us in a place of isolation.
We cannot visit our loved ones in hospitals and are unable to attend community events that bring us together. Because of all of these restrictions and fears, it is no wonder that mental health issues are at an all-time high and will likely continue to rise.
The focus of this post will look at the mental trauma of pandemics – keeping depression at bay…
Trauma in Times of Crisis
There are so many different reasons that this pandemic will be traumatising for our futures and how it will change our perspective on how we live our lives.
Seeing hospitals at capacity and fearing for our own health brings about a fear that makes nothing else seem to matter.
Fearing for our jobs and having a steady form of income during times of economic instability adds another form of fear that is extremely mentally straining.
While we are stuck at home, we feel isolated and detached from others and begin to feel very lonely. Even though there are things like social media to keep us connected, we are learning very quickly how important human interaction is for mental and emotional wellbeing.
Not being able to stand near others makes us feel deeply sad and lost and this is something communities are collectively experiencing.
The news can also have very traumatising effects on our wellbeing. We feel the need to watch it during times of instability and conflict because we want to understand what we should be doing and what precautions we should be taking.
However, this often leads to excessive amounts of consumption of negative and frightening information.
All of these factors and more are the reasons why pandemics cause depression and other mental health issues which ultimately can have huge impacts on our wellbeing.
Reducing Depression
While being stuck at home, there are many ways you can try in order to reduce the amount of depression you are feeling aswell as trying to find happiness during difficult times.
One important thing to keep in mind is your news intake and the amount of time you are spending on technology. This can be mentally draining and can lead us to a state of depression without realising it.
Another way to keep your depression at bay is to focus on a proper sleep schedule and morning routine. When there is no structure in our lives, we feel depressed and anxious on a daily basis.
Making sure you wake up at the same time each day keeps you accountable and productive. This will improve your sleep quality significantly.
Lack of sleep or too much sleep has many links with depression and this is something that you can control.
Maintain Routine
Having a morning routine keeps you happy and gives you the structure you need to stay mentally and emotionally stable. This also helps your depression because when you incorporate things like meditation and journaling into your routine.
By working on self-improvement and happiness you are able to spend time clearing your mind before you start the day.
During times of stress and uncertainty, it is important that we stay connected with others because when we feel isolated we tend to get very depressed.
Video chatting or messaging your friends, or discussing your feelings with family is a great way to realise that you are not alone, this can prevent things from getting too bottled up inside.
There are many ways to keep your mind and emotions stable during a pandemic, but the most important thing to do is to try everything and figure out what works best for you.