Of COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Personal Tale
Mental health is amongst those which are not given much attention during the lockdown and physical distancing brought about by COVID-19. To say that the mess COVID-19 has inflicted to the society is immeasurable is not even enough. When you look in every single person, responses are divergent.
This article is totally unrelated to spelunking. However, I needed to write it and have it published in my blog. BTW, by the end of May, I will be updating again the content of this spelunking blog. Keep safe and practice social distancing even when lockdowns have been eased out.
Initially, the physiologic needs of the affected people had been the top priority. Donations, looking after neighbors, money aids, food packs, etc. became a norm. True enough to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, after satisfying physiologic needs of communities under quarantine, the higher level of needs became evident.
Several weeks after lockdown, mental health became apparent as another focus during the pandemic. News of depression and suicide at one point became center of the talks in social media and main stream media as one of the negative impacts of isolation [1]. The rise in such statistics could be attributed to disruption of vulnerable population’s hospital support as well as enforced lack of social interaction.
Like others who had mental health issues during the enforced staying at home, I had my taste of depression: a mild personal one and several vicarious cases of different severity.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are very vulnerable to mental and emotional challenges as they are working in a totally different environment and place with culture. Personally, I had worked in two different countries, in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and these experiences both gave me unique mental and emotional challenges. My experience in the latter country is more pronounced because of the seclusion brought about by COVID-19.
The lockdown due to COVID-19 was imposed just after the winter and was just being revised and loosened upon writing (towards the end of the second week of May 2020). Winter is bit harsh if you came from a tropical country and depression related to this seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which is only taught in school become real. I had my own mild depression, probably SAD, which I never felt in the KSA before. I cried. I stayed in bed. I had no energy to do to anything. I just wanted to curl in bed. Even updating my spelunking and travel blogs were forgotten.
When the season was about to end, the imposed lockdown due to COVID-19 snuffed the promise of colorful spring which could bring me back to my old happy and energetic self.
Before winter time, I rode all buses and walked half of the trails in the county where I live. I was a happy kid then. Winter and COVID-19 restricted all of these. Plans like taking snaps of cherry blossoms and of spring flowers in different trails have not been realized. My camera and its new lens and other accessories are under my bed gathering dust. My Instagram had been out of new post for months. Social media friends are asking why I am not posting any pictures of my escapades, which is nil.
These are actually of not much importance–it is the lack of outdoor activity that exacerbated my first winter SAD which is the real issue. Thanks to the internet I was able to connect with my family and friends. My understanding Brit host family is also a source of support. I just hope that the gradual lifting of the national lockdown will totally flush this mild depression out of my system.
The seasonal affective disorder I had is actually mild compared to some experiences of people that I had been communicating with in social media. Like what I have said earlier, I turned to internet as a way of connecting with my family and friends. I did not post much in Facebook but I became more active in Messenger and Twitter.
In one night, I keyed and searched for “depression” in Twitter and refreshed the “latest” tab. A post of an unknown account about being depressed and killing himself completely woke me up. Time is after midnight in the Philippines. I immediately sent him a direct message (DM), did assessment, and he agreed to a verbal no-suicide contract. That happened after about an hour of talking to him over WhatsApp. While talking to him, I have been sending messages to my friends asking who are awake at that unholy hour and go to him. Nobody was but some later promised to see him in the morning. He is oceans away and that is the most that I can do.
A week or two later, he committed suicide. Fortunately it was not successful. That woke him up from his mental slumber. After doing a recap of what happened, he understood that he did it because he was drunk, his sanity tainted by the alcohol. From then on, he promised not to get drunk, continued his psychiatric consultations (face to face then online), took his medicines, and went back to work after a week-long rest.
Looking holistically at his situation, it was apparent that he had existing situation that made him vulnerable to mental challenges: long time family issues, failed relationship, and the physical distancing due to COVID-19 on the later part. We are still in contact, though we haven’t seen each other personally. Currently he is still working in his company and had plans of going for higher position.
In the UK, the cherry blossoms have bloomed but unfortunately not been admired by the locals because of the imposed travel restrictions. The government is now slowly easing restrictions. This is also happening now in the Philippines. People are now going out of isolation. Socialization will again flourish. People under depression caused by physical distancing can now breath easier.
I just hope that we learned as individuals on how isolation can affect ourselves, people around us, and those who are vulnerable. The health agency also need to learn to strengthen mental health advocacies and policies not just during a pandemic but in all walks of life. That we need not just food to nourish our body but also things to maintain our sanity.
In time, we can freely go out again. Go to places without restriction. Be able to go again to the underground wonders of the earth. The caves.
Soon…
References
[1] Bavel, J.J.V., Baicker, K., Boggio, P.S. et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Natural Human Behavior (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z