The initial days of covid and lockdowns have been challenging for everyone at different levels. Situations like isolation, unemployment, childcare, and others threatened people’s mental wellbeing across the globe. It has been more than one and half years to this now. So, what is the current health status of the people? Everyone knows about the debilitating physical health effects of the viral infection and the ensuing higher death rates. But there is still a lack of awareness about the mental health conditions triggered by it.
The first wave of stay-at-home orders made people stressed and anxious. You may have also felt emotionally moved by the death of someone in your neighborhood, family, or friend circle. Some couldn’t cope with grief and isolation, while others suffered due to financial insecurity and job loss. So, let’s check out what has changed or remained the same now.
Mental effects of lockdown
When some people stepped out of the house for work while exposing themselves to the risk of virus, others stayed at home and took advantage of remote working. Some preferred stricter lockdown rules, and others yearned for easy measures. Still, people didn’t experience much difference in stress, agitation, restlessness, and sleeplessness. Some studies suggest that the use of alcohol and cannabis among people has increased to alleviate pandemic-led anxiety and depression. Another thing that has come to notice is the soaring anxiety rate, which shows an almost 14% jump.
Feelings of indifference, emptiness, and numbness have engulfed people. As a consequence, the issue of lack of attention, energy, and sleep is also rising. Stress has also led people to unhealthy food habits.
How to cope with mental health challenges in the pandemic?
The changed lifestyle is still not easy to adopt or follow. But certain things can become better with a bit of care. For example, if you continue to work from home, you can create a comfortable physical space in one corner to focus on your project. Create your menu for the whole week in advance during weekends to ensure healthy intake. Give yourself ten minutes at least five days a week for mind and body exercises. Are you worried about pending bills due to financial problems?
In that case, you can search for bad credit personal loans. There are enough options for people with bad credit. You can use the amount to repair your car, clear your medical bill, or for something else. While a loan takes care of those expenses, you can focus on solving your financial concerns.
Like this, you need to spend your energy and time on improving things. It can be possible if you don’t let yourself slip into negativity. To achieve this, you can count all the good things that happened in your life, no matter how small. It doesn’t change your scenario suddenly, but you can get the adequate impetus to work on solutions. Your mind can feel at peace, and stress levels can also improve eventually. So, try everything that shows you a better path ahead. Little habits and efforts sometimes do wonders. You have to implement them one by one.