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Notes on depression during the quarantine isolation - dealing with feeling low.
The fears and restrictions associated with the coronavirus pose significant challenges for people suffering from depression. And here is the vicious circle: we isolate ourselves because of depression but withdrawing from others (even friends or family) may result in feeling sad, hopeless and apathetic. We can't see things clearly and have difficulties making any decisions. And we can't break the circle because of the social distancing measures. We might start to feel trapped.
However, those affected can take countermeasures. Here are some tips:
Keep structure and routine: Structure your day and week in advance. From getting up in the morning, having a healthy breakfast, working or studying, meals to pleasurable things like reading, watching a series, yoga or relaxation exercises. The choice is yours., try to enjoy it. Try to plan in small steps and plan only what you know you can achieve. Take things easy - quarantine is a very difficult period but one day it will come to an end. Remember - coffee raises the cortisol level and may lead to lower anxiety threshold. Rest and be gentle to yourself.
Stay active! A round of jogging or cycling works wonders. If you really don't have a space to go out without breaking social distancing, you can try online free classes - yoga, meditation or even solo contact improvisation dance!
Keep in touch with others: If you are in the home office or even in quarantine, try to arrange phone calls with friends and family. Chats or online forums also help against loneliness. Try to plan it. Otherwise, you may postpone calls due to your mood. You can call someone you like now (:.
Sleeping routine: Do you feel exhausted and tend to retreat to bed? However, this tends to increase the feeling of exhaustion and the severity of depression. Depression is very often connected with insomnia. When you can't fall asleep, you might start to worry and get into a negative looping. We, therefore, recommend not going to bed earlier or lying down during the day. A fixed daily structure can help but keep it gentle and don't blame yourself if something doesn't work according to your plan.
Therapy: Many don't know it, but you can still continue your psychotherapy. Meeting your therapist falls under the regulations of "doctor's visit" and psychotherapy is considered as a "necessary medical service". If due to a quarantine or infection risk you don't want to meet your psychotherapist in person, many practitioners now offer video consultation hours. Ask your therapist if this is possible. If you don't have a therapist and feel like searching for one you may book a free online consultation with us HERE. You might need someone to support you in these difficult times. Our free consultations are short term and problem-based.
Reliable information: facts reduce anxiety. Use reliable sources to inform yourself and try to check the news less often. Be aware of fake news and do not search for speculatory threads. You can add news checking to your daily routine and check it only on those occasions.