Quarantine and Anxiety - Knowing when to get help!
Hello everyone,
I hope that when you read this post, you are safe and healthy. Remember that just because restrictions are started to ease up, it does not mean that this pandemic is over. It really means that there is space for you in the ICU.
Let's be honest - this whole pandemic thing is wearing us all down. I have not left my community since early March. I have not seen anyone but my kids, spouse and our nanny...and the occasional neighbor when we go out on a walk. I have seen any of my friends, our families could not visit us and I have gone to any store since this whole thing started. Want to read something actually quite sad? I have a dentist appointment - I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!! Sad, isn't?
During the first weeks of quarantine, some took this time to sleep in, read, binge watch shows and movies and basically, tackle those house projects that they had put on the back burner. Then, the quarantine just kept going and going and then, it started...
Sleep was no longer as restful and became more restless. Binge watching and reading started to get boring. Lack of social outings caused a distancing that many of us, even the most introverted, started to miss and crave. Then, the news just never seemed to show positive outcomes. People we knew started to get sick and loved ones died. It got real, very fast.
For those who already were battling depression and anxiety, this quarantine only heightened the symptoms. For others who never experienced these feelings of despair, restlessness, lack of hope and loss of desire, it was unsettling.
In some states, restrictions have started to ease up. But still, an aura of uncertainty is floating around. You go out and people are wearing masks. You are not able to go into your local Starbucks because it is too small and does not permit for good social distancing. You can go to a restaurant, but need a reservation and all the workers are wearing masks. You want to to go Mass, but find yourself unable to, because the limit is 25 people per Mass. And now, children are becoming sick with an infection that is linked to Covid and things are getting scarier, especially if you have children.
Whether you want to or not, you cannot stop but listen, read or watch the news. You can't go on the internet without seeing something about Covid. It is getting more and more stressful to watch so many losing their jobs. It is getting more painful to realize that you may not see your families for a long while - maybe even a year, depending on where you live.
Fortunately, some people are more resilient and despite all of this, they have moved on and are doing great. Others, like myself and you probably, it is getting much harder.
I have not had a great and restful night of sleep since March. True, we have young children, including a newborn, but this is different. I wake up more often and always have the itch of going on my phone and watching any new developments. I know it will be bad, but yet, I am unable to just let it go. I have gotten better, but it has been challenging to no longer watch the news.
I have all these great books that I can read and yet, I just find no pleasure. I want to watch TV shows or movies - yet, none interest me. I play them in the background for noise, but that is all.
Tears, there have been many. Binge eating and drinking - of course!!!
But, I am lucky. Yeah, I am lucky and fortunate because I am seeing, via telemedicine, a therapist. He helps me navigate through it all. The sessions are getting harder and harder, because the weight of this pandemic is getting too hard to carry. But, at least, I have someone to coach me.
When should you get help? NOW! Don't wait and tell yourself that it will get better. It may. But, it may also not get better. Even if all you need is a session - do it! Do it to have someone else's perspective. Do it to speak with a third party that is not related to you and will not just say what they believe you want to hear - my family does that to me all the time... Do it for your own mental health.
There is no shame in wanting to reach out and just talk. There is only shame in your head because we put so much pressure on ourselves. We feel that if we become vulnerable, we are weak and unable to tackle the toughest things in life. But, that is not true. What is true is that we are stronger than we want to admit. We can accomplish and tackle anything, even if it is scary. We just choose not to because society tells us otherwise.
Don't go through this alone. There is help. Use all the resources that are made available to you. Go online, ask a friend, pastor\priest or doctor. Ask!! Ask!!
If you or a loved one is having a hard time, please click on the link below or share it:
https://bit.ly/3bKEyry
Please share your struggle and let's built our community.
SM
I hope that when you read this post, you are safe and healthy. Remember that just because restrictions are started to ease up, it does not mean that this pandemic is over. It really means that there is space for you in the ICU.
Let's be honest - this whole pandemic thing is wearing us all down. I have not left my community since early March. I have not seen anyone but my kids, spouse and our nanny...and the occasional neighbor when we go out on a walk. I have seen any of my friends, our families could not visit us and I have gone to any store since this whole thing started. Want to read something actually quite sad? I have a dentist appointment - I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!! Sad, isn't?
During the first weeks of quarantine, some took this time to sleep in, read, binge watch shows and movies and basically, tackle those house projects that they had put on the back burner. Then, the quarantine just kept going and going and then, it started...
Sleep was no longer as restful and became more restless. Binge watching and reading started to get boring. Lack of social outings caused a distancing that many of us, even the most introverted, started to miss and crave. Then, the news just never seemed to show positive outcomes. People we knew started to get sick and loved ones died. It got real, very fast.
For those who already were battling depression and anxiety, this quarantine only heightened the symptoms. For others who never experienced these feelings of despair, restlessness, lack of hope and loss of desire, it was unsettling.
In some states, restrictions have started to ease up. But still, an aura of uncertainty is floating around. You go out and people are wearing masks. You are not able to go into your local Starbucks because it is too small and does not permit for good social distancing. You can go to a restaurant, but need a reservation and all the workers are wearing masks. You want to to go Mass, but find yourself unable to, because the limit is 25 people per Mass. And now, children are becoming sick with an infection that is linked to Covid and things are getting scarier, especially if you have children.
Whether you want to or not, you cannot stop but listen, read or watch the news. You can't go on the internet without seeing something about Covid. It is getting more and more stressful to watch so many losing their jobs. It is getting more painful to realize that you may not see your families for a long while - maybe even a year, depending on where you live.
Fortunately, some people are more resilient and despite all of this, they have moved on and are doing great. Others, like myself and you probably, it is getting much harder.
I have not had a great and restful night of sleep since March. True, we have young children, including a newborn, but this is different. I wake up more often and always have the itch of going on my phone and watching any new developments. I know it will be bad, but yet, I am unable to just let it go. I have gotten better, but it has been challenging to no longer watch the news.
I have all these great books that I can read and yet, I just find no pleasure. I want to watch TV shows or movies - yet, none interest me. I play them in the background for noise, but that is all.
Tears, there have been many. Binge eating and drinking - of course!!!
But, I am lucky. Yeah, I am lucky and fortunate because I am seeing, via telemedicine, a therapist. He helps me navigate through it all. The sessions are getting harder and harder, because the weight of this pandemic is getting too hard to carry. But, at least, I have someone to coach me.
When should you get help? NOW! Don't wait and tell yourself that it will get better. It may. But, it may also not get better. Even if all you need is a session - do it! Do it to have someone else's perspective. Do it to speak with a third party that is not related to you and will not just say what they believe you want to hear - my family does that to me all the time... Do it for your own mental health.
There is no shame in wanting to reach out and just talk. There is only shame in your head because we put so much pressure on ourselves. We feel that if we become vulnerable, we are weak and unable to tackle the toughest things in life. But, that is not true. What is true is that we are stronger than we want to admit. We can accomplish and tackle anything, even if it is scary. We just choose not to because society tells us otherwise.
Don't go through this alone. There is help. Use all the resources that are made available to you. Go online, ask a friend, pastor\priest or doctor. Ask!! Ask!!
If you or a loved one is having a hard time, please click on the link below or share it:
https://bit.ly/3bKEyry
Please share your struggle and let's built our community.
SM
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