1 Year of COVID-19: A Check on Your Mental Health
Article by Fariha Farooq
January 23rd, 2020 marked what was the first COVID-19 case in Canada. One year later, what we once termed as “normal life” still seems long away. Although many of us have accustomed very well to this new normal, our longing for the pre-pandemic lifestyle still remains. Coupled with this sense of longing, comes the financial, physical, emotional and mental stress that continues to impact so many around us today. For those who are fortunate to be leading a comfortable lifestyle, simply the lack of human interaction is enough to take a toll on our mental wellbeing.
With everything that has been happening around us, it is so easy to become used to this state of poor mental health. We are dealing with so many layers of uncertainty that we are simply unable to recognize how demanding it is both cognitively and physiologically. Aoife O’Donovan, an associate professor of psychiatry at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences in California describes this impact as “being experienced throughout the body, because when people perceive a threat, abstract or actual, they activate a biological stress response. Cortisol mobilises glucose. The immune system is triggered, increasing levels of inflammation. This affects the function of the brain, making people more sensitive to threats and less sensitive to rewards” (Cocozza). In simple terms, this means that our mental health (and consequently our immune system) can now be triggered by hearing someone cough, by the sight of all those face masks, or through the proliferation of a colour termed “surgical blue”. Many of us do not even realize that our mental health is suffering until our immune system begins hinting at signs of physical distress.
This article does not only serve to provide you with a list of resources that you may (or may not) choose to use, as it is intended to place emphasis on the fact that even the most mundane of daily activities can cause a psychological trigger during these trying times. And while we continue to gloss over them through terms such as “pandemic blues” and “the new normal”, there is actually much more suffering happening under concealment.
So today, I urge you to pause and reflect on which activities are causing a bit more anxiety, requiring a bit more energy to complete and inciting a tad bit more frustration. Awareness is the first step towards healing, understanding and being accepting of the fact that something is just not right, but by seeking the right support, things can be made right once again.
If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental health-related crisis; here are some resources you can reach out to for support:
- Crisis Services Canada: 1-833-456-4566
- Good2Talk Helpline: 1-866-925-5454
- Mental Health Helpline: 1-866-531-2600
Sources:
Cocozza, Paula. “Has a Year of Living with Covid-19 Rewired Our Brains?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 Dec. 2020, www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/13/covid-19-rewired-our-brains-pandemic-mental-health.