Coronavirus Depression | Should we call it Corona depression?

Call it a curse or a bio-war, this corona virus has made our lives like never before. Though we are following many precautions and doing all the rituals like washing hands, sanitizing and staying home, it is a fact that we are all worried about the effect of this deadly disaster.

This situation is not only attacking the human race physically but also highly affecting us mentally. It is not an exaggeration if someone tells that more than half of the earth’s population will be mentally unstable after this corona period. In case you feel that you might end up being one of them, please don’t hesitate to take the help of mental health experts. Online counseling has provided a way to interact with psychologists to maintain your emotional wellness.

What is Depression?

Depression is defined as a passing state of lassitude, discouragement and sadness. Depression appears in both physical and psychological ways but the intensity varies from person to person. Depression is a mental illness that doesn’t seem to be, but the affect of it says it all. A depressed person is found to have low mood all the while, loss of interest in activities with severe impairment in daily life. Though a person is depressed, any positive outcome is likely to elevate the mood for some time, in them. But, if the depression disorder is classic, no such positive outcomes could bring a cheer in them.

Symptoms of Depression

With the number of increasing cases, and the thought of getting affected some people are getting depressed. Some others are feeling low because of the effects of lockdown like lack of food resources, financial issues, insecurities regarding jobs and health issues, and other personal problems.

The below symptoms help identify depressed people.

Physical symptoms:

• Severe headaches like migraine
• Neck and muscle cramps
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Sleep problems
• Decreased appetite
• Low energy and fatigue

Psychological symptoms:

• Virus related worries and insecurities
• Overwhelming feeling of weakness
• Apprehensions and worries
• Negative thoughts
• Feelings of discouragement, sadness etc.

Behavioral symptoms

• Wandering thoughts
• Lack of concentration
• Irritability
• Frustration
• Withdrawal
• Aggression
• Crying
• Indecisiveness
• Increased usage of alcohol and drug abuse etc.

Depression, in general, affects everyone and the symptoms can vary. The most distinguished ones being deep, prolonged sadness. The one, who has such a chronic depression, is likely to have a major depression.

Is it Depression?

When I called a friend of mine yesterday, she who happens to be a mom of two was saying, “I’m fine but feeling exhausted. Don’t know how I slept for two hours during mid-day and still feel like though I had enough sleep at night.” When I enquired her about what’s going on, she told, “I’m just thinking how my old mother was coping alone in the village. This lockdown is keeping me busy all day long as I’m somehow spending more than half of my time in kitchen.

My freelancing job came to a halt, should see what happens next. My kids developed this binge-watching of those videos. My gray hairs are showing and my eyebrows grew bushy, but, literally who cares? He is working from home and seems always occupied in his work.” I remembered reading about depression and her conditioned matched with the symptoms I read.

After this conversation, I understood that every one of the women in the world must be going through the same and every person on this earth during this period is worrying about the present scenario. Yes, we are not alone. More than half of the world population is feeling the same way right now. Almost every person is riding this struggle bus on some way down the road. Call it depression or “just worry”, but it is definitely not good for our mental health.

This new level of social withdrawal and isolation is keeping us worried all the while and to make it worse, we are hearing anticipatory news about this situation getting even worse. What can we do during these tough times?

Tips for coping up

Apart from the tips that you need to follow to during lockdown, the other important points to be remembered are the below ones.

Find out the ways to minimize the repercussions. Accept what’s happening around and know what you need to do. Be positive and hopeful.

• Read virus related information only from the official websites like WHO (World Health Organization) Encouraging rumors can increase unnecessary anxiety in everyone. Also, don’t read or watch news for more than ten minutes in a day. Otherwise, it shows a bigger effect on your mental health.
• Spend time with your family. During such times, healthy discussions should take place. Also, narrating stories on how you came out of tough situations and discussing your winning strategies etc. can help and inspire everyone around you.
• Delegate the work among the house members as it reduces their boredom and lets the lady of the house relax a bit. Everyone should work to keep the house clean as it keeps up the immune system.
• If necessary, talk to the experts. It is very important to identify the symptoms and to acknowledge them at the right professionals that could be the starting of any kind of mental health issue.

The best way to come out of it is to have a dialogue. Be it your best friend or a close someone who could empathize. If you really feel that you need help, it is better to consult an expert psychologist. In case, the problem is severe, a psychiatrist will be recommended for medical help. If needed, they might refer to group therapy or individual therapy. We are here to help you, as our group of expert and experienced psychologists is within your reach, either online or offline.