Anxiety and Depression due to pandemic, maybeeeeee. What do you do?

Not depressed or anxious but it is rather boring not being able to run around town, travel or see friends as I did in pre-pandemic times. On the other hand, the Covid disruption has been a blessing in disguise because I've been working from home and am a lot more productive without the distraction of coworkers and commuting in rush hour traffic. All those extra hours ended up opening up more time to practice and write every single day, rather than just here and there. Plus, a lot more home improvement and gardening gets done!

Plus, you live in Honolulu! :eek: Just bought a nice little old uke there on ebay. I am sad it has to leave your paradise and is shipped right now to cold and snowy northwest Europe. Looked up a live webcam from Sheraton Hotel Honolulu overlooking the beach. Man! They are sunbathing and surfing there right now while I am having the gray weather outside my window ;) And what a beautiful colour your sea has in the bay of Waikiki! And how beautiful Diamonds Head looks across the water. Come on, let's swap places!
 
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Lifestion took this example from my text but without it's context. In this context, your example with bees would mean: You don't know if you are allergic against bee's poison. But you don't think at it every time you leave your bee free home. You are fine.

Sorry but I don’t agree. In my scenario the bees are invisible, they stick to your clothing and every time I go out I am at risk of bringing them back into my home to vulnerable members of my family that I am caring for. This is why our extended family didn’t celebrate Christmas together.

Now is not the time to stick your head in the sand. Here in England right now things are grim. Our hospitals are swamped and our Prime Minister has told us all to stay home and act as if we have the virus.

I believe in assessing your risk and finding ways to control your anxiety but please don’t down play the situation or deny reality in doing so.
 
I am far from denying or downplaying the covid situation. I think you misinterpret what I was trying to say. Please read the thread from the beginning to see what I am about to do here.
I try to help someone who is obviously suffering from anxiety and depression because of covid angst.
I think we should not amp up fears on forums. But we can help keeping up optimism.

And it is not generally the case, that every time we go out, virus is spoiling our clothes and we bring it home where vulnerable family members are. We know the precautions and can avoid close contact to other people where ever possible, we can wear masks, wash hands, use desinfection, and when we have vulnerable people in our family we can help protect them actively.

This is what we can do.

But anxiety and depression must not be caused by this. I personally know of people, who are so anxious that they don't even go to the doctor when they needed to. There are people who were frightened so much by some click baiting news headlines or through certain places on the internet, that they are avoiding to go for a solitary walk at the fresh air for many weeks now. There are people who feel personally haunted by the virus, they start to see it everywhere and strongly believe they will surely die when they catch it. All this is not how we should tackle this. And I believe we all can help to keep our spirits up. And I believe we can help anxious people when we don't amplify fears.

We should take the virus serious. We should follow the common guidelines of precaution. But we shall not despair.

This was my intention. It was all meant in a good will.

If it is desired that we stop turning our heads to the optimistic side, then we should stop discussing covid related anxiety and depression here altogether. Because we can't know or see, what someone who sits at the other end of the line makes from what he or she reads here.
 
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Christian. Your private message is inappropriate and fortunately I am strong enough that I didn’t react badly to it but I could have quite easily, especially the last sentence.

The fact is that yes people need to be comforted but just telling them ‘you will be fine’ and ‘dont be anxious’ does not work for everyone.

Many people I know that are suffering extreme anxiety because of the virus comes not from dealing with it but from the behaviours of others not taking it seriously. It is comforting to know that other people feel the same. It’s normal to feel anxiety about such an extraordinary event. As my therapist once said to me ‘I’d be more worried if you wasn’t feeling emotional about this’.

And after a tiring day I’m off to have a bath.
 
I think it is a good thing when we respond to a private message with a private message.
I feel sorry that you feel offended by me.
If you believe that I am trying to comfort people or I deny the reality or downplay the situation, I will accept this.
But allow me to assume that you misunderstood what I was writing. Am am sorry, if my suggestions, how to tackle anxiety in a pandemic don't work for you.
And now let us both calm down. Worst of all things in this situation, in which we all are together, is when we stop having mutual respect.
 
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During the pandemic, many were isolated from friends and colleagues. People lack communication. Therefore, there may be depression.
Use a developmental period. After all, after a pandemic, the world will develop differently
 
In order not to fall into depression, read books, watch films. You can even explore some new directions for yourself. It can be cooking, learning to play the guitar. I got interested in creating video applications. There are many interesting tutorials about this on facebook
There are separate groups in which you can get advice and a video tutorial on how to create a video application. I save such videos for yourself with facebook video downloader and watch again and again when I need it.
 
During the pandemic, many were isolated from friends and colleagues. People lack communication. Therefore, there may be depression.
Use a developmental period. After all, after a pandemic, the world will develop differently
Thanks for these inspiring words! I agree that isolation, loss of income, and fear are triggering mental health conditions. Even people who didn't have any mental issues before the pandemic might experience anxiety, depression, or insomnia now. I personally faced the problem of insomnia. To be honest, I don't want to be on meds. Moreover, according to the Canadian pharmacy site, I can't take them for a long period of time. Recently, I've started doing yoga and changed my nutrition. It might take time, but I hope for a good result.
 
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I think I understand exactly how you feel. And, why your initial post was so brief. I'm 75, and still struggling with anxieties, some stemming all the way from childhood. In fact, my wife, who is a retired therapist, told me that I need therapy. So, I've got an appointment in mid April for a psych eval. Hey, if talking to someone will ease my pain and give me a better quality of life, why not go for it? I'm sick and tired of doing battle with all my ghosts and goblins. I never win! :wallbash:
 
I work very hard at avoiding anything sad or negative. Once I start down that dark hole, it's like falling off a cliff. I force myself not to get negative. I've been in a good mood for a couple of months, and that surprises me. Avoidance is the key.
 
I prefer to communicate with new people online. I have already got new chat video with strangers. We communicate about different things and enjoyed online conversations. I want to meet with online friends in real life one day.
 
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I definitely empathize. While I don’t think I have anything beyond a low-level anxiety, Covid did a number on me and I finally called it and booked an appointment with a therapist. This last year has been spent reading and trying different things to pull myself out of increasingly-frequent depressive slumps but I think the only thing that came close to helping was making YouTube videos (probably because they’re so much work to put together I don’t think of much else when I’m working on them) but the once I’m done, I’m vulnerable again.

I’m pretty stoked to be getting help. If the therapist says anything interesting, I’ll be sure to pass it along.
 
Yeah... I am having it now too, it is not easy. I am trying to eat healthy and exercise. I think it might help. I also get some good and healthy supplements from Canadian pharmacy which should be good in this case as well. What do you think about such things? Maybe you can give me any tips or recommendations here? That would help so much!
 
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I will support the last answer. When I feel bad, the first thing I do. I ask myself, am I tired? Or does something hurt me? 80% of the time, I realize that my body is not feeling well, not my mind. Sports, food, work, and a healthy daily routine are the cure for depression. In moments of psychological decline, everyone has their own methods. I enjoy reading the story of the great depression https://samploon.com/free-essays/great-depression/ it is very refreshing to me. I am beginning to understand that my "problems" are just the result of idleness.
 
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Don't let depression or anxiety to enter your life and in any way run it. I know it's hard times for everyone, but remember you're not alone. Here are really good pieces of advice. I especially liked those about physical and mental health. I always try to spend as much time out as possible, I take walks every evening before going to bed, trying to follow a healthy diet, and do some exercise. Socialization has a huge impact on our mental health. It's really important to communicate with others. Try to find people of your interests, like uke-minded ppl here. Online dating sites is also not a bad idea. You can find some new friends there. For example silversingles app is a place to meet senior people with the same interests. Also, try to attend different events where there's a possibility for a relaxing pass time and pleasant chats.The conclusion is: motion is health! Never stay on one point!
 
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