Pandemic is making a huge impact on mental health. Isolation, loneliness and uncertainty intensify the symptoms of various mental disorders and even people without any mental illness feeling blue. My question is what can we do to manage it?
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I'm attaching an interesting graph I found on the topic.
The pandemic has been called a collective traumatic event that has affected nearly every individual in every country. I don't think things will ever go back to the way it was before. What I think would be more helpful is supporting people in adjusting to the way things are now.
I agree with Julianna and Affra, the first step is always acknowledgement. The next step then, in my opinion, should be increasing accessibility to resources that support people in this time (therapy, food assistance, housing assistance, etc.).
Here are some resources I've found for how cope with trauma.
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/coping-after-disaster-trauma
https://www.apa.org/topics/disasters-response/recovering
I think the most basic approach to managing stress and anxiety during the pandemic is recognizing and acknowledging the fact that this is a hard time for everyone. Once you come to terms with this fact you can convince yourself to get help every way possible.
I think we need to start with recognizing, acknowledging, and even advertising this fact that the pandemic has the potential to be a catalyst for mental health issues. Once people know that it's okay to have felt overwhelmed and lonely over the past two years, we will be in a better position to assist managing the symptoms.