Depression²
By: Deidre Delpino Dykes
Tags: Wellness, Mental Illness, Covid 19, Self Care, Depression

Depression²

How to fight a one-two punch right now

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

On a good day, I struggle with depression. Maybe a little less; perhaps it’s more annoying those days and less utterly disruptive. But it’s there, all the same. Now, add in a global pandemic and orders restricting my ability to go out and socialize with my lifeline friends and places, and we’ve got quite a problem on our hands. I’m not doing well some days, if I’m going to be completely honest.

I’m not alone in this. Citizens of the world — even healthy, neurotypical people — are reporting an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms. But what’s to be done? Not everyone has access to a psychiatrist or therapist in these difficult times — and those resources alone are not a panacea that will magically solve an international mental health crisis.

There are small things we can all do in tough, unprecedented times that act as pieces of the puzzle needed to feel a little better, a little more stable, a little more yourself.

Build a routine and stick to it

Set an alarm and get up at the same time every day (or at least every work day; I won’t begrudge anyone sleeping in on their days off). Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast. Try to find some semblance of the normal life you had before and imitate it. Work the same hours you always did (whether you still have a job or you’re re-tiling the guest bathroom in your spare time). Eat meals at around the same time every day. Make time for exercise. Set aside time to engage in the hobbies that you love. Schedule time to text or call or video chat with friends and family. Make a daily routine and schedule and stick to it.

Mind your sleep habits

Maintain a consistent bed time. Try to get up at around the same time each day. Get those 7–9 hours of sleep if you can. Avoid the dangerous mire of taking long naps during the day — they can exacerbate existing sleep pattern problems. Sleep in a quiet, cool, dark room. Try not to use your phone in bed (that blue light can keep your brain awake late into the night and affect your sleep quality). Turn on Do Not Disturb and settle in for a good night’s rest.

Exercise regularly

This is a great way to get a quick mood boost. Take walks while maintaining safe distance or try bodyweight exercises at home like squats or yoga practice. There are plenty of free workout videos on Youtube or — if you have the money — consider fitness apps to help you plan a workout. Some gyms are even offering home workout routine videos for folks who are stuck at home.

Reach out to people

This is the time to strengthen your connections; you need them right now. Lacking face-to-face contact with our loved ones can do deep damage to people — especially extroverts. No, a FaceTime call isn’t the same as happy hour with your friends, but it’ll have to do for now. Better to have a good enough solution than no solution at all.

Get help if you need it

There’s no shame in therapy or medication and there’s nothing wrong with needing financial help (can a family member loan you some money for the short term?). Call your doctor. Look into telemedicine or a therapy app. Lean on your friends and family, but be sure to ask first if they have the energy to listen to you talk about what worries you — they may be going through things on their own end that they haven’t divulged to you and it’s not fair to lay your problems onto someone who can’t currently deal with their own first.

The new normal

Things right now are more than a little strange. And who knows when we’ll get back to our old lives — if we ever can revert to a pre-COVID world, that is. And honestly? We probably can’t. This crisis has laid bare the failings of the American healthcare system and to want to go back to “normal” means a return to a failed concept that regularly kills people from neglect.

For now, take it one day at a time. Prioritize what you need to do and be kind to yourself if you’re struggling to take care of you and your family right now. Most of the population alive today has never been through anything quite like this. We’re all a little uncertain how to adjust to such rapidly changing times.

And that’s okay. We’re not really sure what the right way to handle this collective trauma is. You simply have to do the best you can with what you have for now while holding out hope for a better (eventual) tomorrow.