Off-topic Post: Awareness for the current problems due to COVID19 and how to deal with some problems without preexisting Depression (Part 1)

Hello everyone,
due to the current worldwide situation caused by COVID19, I felt I should make a post about it.

We are dealing with hardships all around the world because of Corona.

These are some general problems alot of us currently have to deal with worldwide:

• Being isolated from friends and family. We cannot visit them or check on our grandparents in retirement homes. We are limited to calls, videocalls, E-Mails, or Instant Messaging programs to stay in touch. Some people might even be stranded overseas away from their family. We are lucky to have the current technology to stay connected, but it does not make up for a hug or a kiss.

• Alot of people are dealing with work restrictions or even being forced to stay home from work. People with children (depending on the country) can’t provide well for their families. Depending on where you live you can also be dealing with fear due to financial problems. People whos work was fullfilling for them, might end up depressed because they can‘t go to work. Some could be dealing with more stress, if they have used their work as stress relief.

• The reason I chose to mention financial struggles seperately, instead of adding it to the work restrictions, is because I wanted to go deeper into the thoughts and emotions that this subject causes. Financial issues have some common consequences with work restrictions like feeling insignificant, helplessness, maybe even feeling like you are failing your family. But financial problems depending on the magnitude, can lead to quite strong emotions, thoughts and actions. If you find yourself in a tight spot due to the lack of money, you might resort to extreme actions. Some might even think about stealing, earning money illegally, resorting to violence or even killing to obtain money.

• Starvation is also a big problem, depending on which country you live in and which restrictions you are dealing with from the government to fight the Corona-Virus.

• Uncertainty concerning quarantine. We do not know, how it will develop, or how long it will take until this is over. I am certain, we all are wondering about one aspect of the quarantine or another. „When will everything return back to normal?“ „Will we ever return back to how things were before COVID19?“

• Tensions develop within families, when people who are used to going to work regularly and their children being at school, are suddenly stuck at home together.

• Fear for our health and the health of our loved ones. Some are even scared for their life, if they have pre-existing medical conditions.

• Grief, alot of people have already lost loved ones

Due to the quarantine we are dealing with feeling anxious, becoming negative, scared, lonely, stressed and depressed.

All these are general problems we are currently dealing with during this time of COVID19 and the resulting quarantine as well as lockdown.

It is important for us all to try to stay calm and collected. If we give in to these problems and the consequences they bring (frustration, sadness, dispair, panic, etc.), we have a high probability to become depressed or act rashly.

We live in quite an extreme situation currently and probably very few to none of us, have expected to ever find themselves in a crisis so huge, it would affect the globe and at the same time affect us so personally.

Depending on the country you live in you might be more or less restricted than others, to keep ourselves composed in these times, here are some of my suggestions to prevent depression and other emotional consequences.

Think more about what you CAN do and focus less on what you CAN’T. If listening to music, reading, writing or similar help you relax, do that once daily, unless you absolutely don’t feel like it and feel it would have a negative effect.

Stay in contact with friends and family as much as you can, to prevent feeling lonely or feeling like you have to deal with all of this on your own. Use the technology we have, write messages, call them, chat, stay in touch!

If you feel „trapped“ in your appartment, enjoy every moment you are outside, if you are only allowed to go shopping where you live, walk slowly, look at the scenery around you, smell the fresh air. It might help you find balance and a sense of freedom in that moment. If you are allowed to take walks, do as many as you are allowed to.

Also if you are forced to stay home, look around your apartment or house, if something is making you sick to see every day the way it is, redecorate. Change it as much as you can and need to, to help make you feel more relaxed and comfortable. You probably like how you decorated your house, but I can imagine that if you are stuck there longer than in your usual daily life, there might be some things that just got boring to look at or even annoy you in the meantime, because it’s always the same.

To vent frustration or anger, you can try to do different types of sports, you can also do certain exercises at home. Maybe you are the type that like to listen to heavy metal music to vent anger or write. Do not let anger or aggression get the better of you, do not vent it on others, even if you might feel desperate.

Try to find different ways of dealing with your current struggles. Sometimes we feel helpless and tend to overlook what is actually possible to do on our own. Right now I am sure alot of people feel powerless, because there is not much we can do about COVID19 and the consequences. But we can do little things to help us to stay level headed. There are certainly way more things you can do, that I might not have thought about. Usually doing things that are connected to your interests and hobbies help us vent different emotions. Try to think of the things you like to do and the problems you are dealing with currently.

I hope that I could show everyone, what alot of people are dealing with and make others aware, that we are affected worldwide and we are not alone with our problems. I am hopeful, that I am able to help some of you with some of your struggles. I also want to make you self aware that you can do something, no matter how small it is.

If we all pay attention to ourselves and our state of mind, I am sure we will get through this better, than just suffering and waiting for the situation to change.

I wish each and everyone of you strength, strong nerves and that you are able to find a way to help yourself. Stay safe everyone and take care!

See you next time!