Mental health in the time of COVID-19
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Tatiana Škultétyová discusses the effects of Coronavirus on mental health.
Overnight, people’s lives have been turned upside down due to the Covid-19 outbreak, so it is no surprise that both physical and mental health have taken a significant hit. Not only is the situation itself a cause of enormous stress, but having to stay at home with more time to think – and, frankly, to overthink – is a breeding ground for heightened anxieties.
Naturally, a lot of people have seized the lockdown/self-isolation situation as an opportunity. They are using this time, which they otherwise would not have had, to learn new skills or improve on older ones, to be ultra-productive, to stay healthy and keep up a workout routine. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If the global pandemic is not affecting your ability to do these things – or better yet, doing them actually helps shift your focus and deal with everyday life, then that is awesome and you should keep doing just that.
Where it becomes a little tricky is when it comes to social media. Around the second week of lockdown I started to notice that Instagram in particular was becoming increasingly toxic about this. For many, doing activities such as working out or taking an online class is an achievement they are proud of, and hence they want to share it with the world. Some see it as a way of motivating friends and family, which to an extent is a correct assumption and can indeed be the case. But it can also make those who are struggling to cope with the current situation feel like they are less worthy, because they are not being as productive, or are turning to comfort food and spending more of their time watching Netflix. And that is problematic: these people are already having a hard enough time, and piling more stress onto them is simply unfair.
Admittedly, people sharing their quarantine prowess might not be the most damnation-worthy thing ever. However, what is, is the post that has virtually circulated the whole of the internet:
If you don’t come out of this quarantine with either
a new skill
starting what you’ve been putting off
more knowledge
You didn’t ever lack the time, you lacked the discipline.
This is exactly what prompted me to write this article, because those few words could be incredibly triggering for so many. It is important to know that this is absolutely not true. Coming out of this quarantine without a new skill does not mean you lack discipline: in fact, it does not mean anything at all. What we are living through right now are completely unprecedented circumstances, with numerous people being affected by a loss of income, or even worse, by the death of a loved one.
Even if you have not been directly impacted in these ways, we are all still standing under a constant storm of bad news, prevented from seeing friends and family. It is okay to be paralysed by what is happening, and for it to be hard to find the motivation to do even the most mundane things, let alone doing any extra work or activities. It is normal to be feeling down to the point where the only food you crave is comfort food. Whilst it is important to maintain your overall health, we must not forget that mental health is just as much a part of this, and it deserves to be our top priority in these times.
Perhaps we should all be a little more conscious of what we are putting out into the world right now. Most importantly, we need to be checking up on friends and looking out for their mental wellbeing, as well as reaching out to them if we find ourselves struggling. After all, we’re all in this together!