How COVID-19 Affects Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic brings a lot of challenges to all people around the globe. It created an unprecedented change that no one imagined. It causes constant fear, anxiety, as well as uncertainty for a lot of reasons. It makes people worry about their loved ones all the time and raise concerns about their livelihoods. Its pandemic situation requires an immediate response from everyone around the world. There is no right way to handle this situation, to be honest. Whether we follow safety measures such as social distancing and disinfection, there is still no assurance of exemption from the infection of the virus. That is why we get caught up in these unwanted emotions.

Source: rawpixel.com

Anxiety

This pandemic messes with our thoughts. All of us worry about the future, and we all wanted this pandemic to end. We do not want our family and friends to get infected. Before, we only worry about not getting sick. But now, the things in our heads turn into terror. There’s this unbearable fear of going outside and getting infected with the virus. We know that anytime and anywhere, things can get worse. We are not capable of stopping the coronavirus. That is why we follow safety measures. We distance ourselves from everyone, even if we don’t know if it is working or not. It causes us anxiety.

Source: rawpixel.com

Insomnia

In times like this, carelessness is a crime. We all feel like there is no tomorrow, so we always need to stay alert. No matter how exhausted we feel and how mentally and emotionally draining everything is, we force ourselves to energize. Sleep gets terrible because we think of too much negativity. We’ve been through a lot already, and we feel like there is no time to waste. Some of us force themselves to stay awake to assist those others who need medical help.

Grief

This situation creates an immeasurable amount of grief in us. We feel so lost and empty because so much has changed. We are not allowed to go outside and not even allowed to hang out with other people. We are locked up. The pandemic affects our mental health because we keep on thinking about the things we usually do. We want things to go back the way they were because the situation makes us miss out on the special events in our lives as well. We worry about life and the future. We feel scared and lonely.

Source: rawpixel.com

Depression

There are days that we feel okay and that we accept the situation with all our hearts. However, we can’t deny the fact that sometimes we are only trying our best to adjust. And no matter how much we attempt not to focus on the negativity caused by this situation, we can’t help but cry. We feel this unfairness that makes us question, “why is this happening to the world?” Most of the time, we feel like we don’t know how to keep it together. We lose track of our sanity and often get ourselves heartbroken. It brings us deep sadness due to isolation.

Source: rawpixel.com

Anger

In this situation, most of us find ourselves angry. There is confusion everywhere as to why we can’t do anything to end this crisis. We often feel the need to blame certain people for the spread of the virus as well. We ignore humanity because we are too focused on survival. We are continually struggling to face the reality that there is nothing we can do. That is why we put pressure on those people who are working hard to create a solution.

This COVID-19 situation makes us lose ourselves because it just seems hopeless.  But then again, we are all going through this fight against the pandemic. It is essential to understand that no one is alone in this feeling right now. All of the above-mentioned mental health illnesses are not to be ignored. If you need someone to talk to during these challenging and dark times, you can always do so in the comfort of your own homes. Reach out to one of the professional counselors at BetterHelp. By subscribing to the app, you have the opportunity to get matched with a counselor that’s focused on guiding you into better understanding the particular problem that you need help with. Connect with them today.