Are we going to face PTSD after quarantine? Mental health issues are on the rise at the moment. From financial stress to domestic violence. For those who are alone in quarantine, this is a difficult time and more stressful than for those who are with their families. Although some staying with their families might envy those who are alone but being completely alone during social distancing can take a toll on our mental health.
Many countries are beginning the process of lifting restrictions though not nearly enough. We still don’t have enough information on the virus. What are the exact symptoms? Can patients that recovered become immune? Everything done in each country at the moment is just an experiment. It might go wrong, but it might go right. Fingers crossed!
It’s not realistic to expect that everything will go back to normal overnight. The battle against COVID -19 is not over and once it is, we will be facing many and unique mental health challenges. One of the many challenges will be PTSD.
Before the world went into quarantine, Lancet did a review on all psychological impact of quarantine and they found that the most common issues are confusion, anger, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Quarantine and Mental Health
The main issue is not only staying home and working from home without none or limited socializing. While in quarantine, we have to navigate our relationships with family members or roommates with whom we share our space. While some are facing different challenges, staying by themselves without any face to face communication with others which is a big challenge for many.
What Type of Issues We Might Face While in Quarantine?
We might realize that we actually really don’t like the people with whom we share our lives. Many are reporting that the divorce rates are high during the quarantine. Now, in quarantine, we can’t run away from our issues.
Furthermore, we might realize that we don’t like our lifestyle. We cannot run away from ourselves either. Maybe we don’t have a lot of friends; we don’t like our job and we never really finished anything that we planned. All of that is right in front of us.
When we dig even deeper, we can turn against ourselves. We can think that we don’t like ourselves. We do not know what to do with our extra time while the time is passing by slowly. As Professor of Philosophy, Adrian Bardon tells Vox that time can feel way slower during the quarantine because our attention is turned more inward than usual. For some, it can feel like time passing faster because we feel as though we have not done enough.
Moving in a circle is too easy when we are in quarantine. We are easily judging ourselves for not finishing our tasks and having so much time to do it. We could be doing way more with our time. Instead of watching Netflix all day, we could be signing up for the online classes and doing everything that we usually don’t have time for. During quarantine, it’s easier to feel envious of others and their lives. It seems everyone else has a better lifestyle, better home offices, balconies, views, or even better governments. After everything is over, the majority of the feelings might remain. Plus, we will be fearful of shaking hands, talking to others, and going to restaurants. Everything we did with ease before, will be done with great concern once we go back to normal. How long will this last? No one knows the answer. What can we do now? Take care of yourself and do it right now. Don’t wait! And stay safe.
