NYC Therapist: When Covid-19 Gets You Down, Seek Help

If you have been following the advice of health authorities during the Covid-19 pandemic, you are probably in self-quarantine, or at least staying indoors as much as possible to avoid the risk of infection.

But while keeping yourself safe at home is certainly a good idea, prolonged social isolation causes the feelings of sadness and hopelessness. So it is fair to say that the coronavirus outbreak has had a devastating effect not only on our physical health, but on our mental wellbeing as well. 

Not surprisingly, Americans are reporting higher than usual rates of fear and anxiety, according to recent data from Healthline and YouGov’s COVID-19 tracker. 

Add to this the feelings of frustration, fear, helplessness, and uncertainty about the future, and you have the perfect storm of depression risks.

In fact, a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 45% of adults say the pandemic has affected their mental health.

What makes this particular situation even more difficult is that we cannot give in to our natural desire to connect with family and friends, which we would usually do during stressful times. Lack of physical contact with our loved ones exacerbates the feeling of loneliness and isolation.

But there is help out there and you should not hesitate to seek it.

A mental health professional can help you manage your emotional distress, so you can feel healthy and fit to resume normal life when the crisis ends — and the crisis will end, even though it may not seem like it at the moment. (Keeping a positive attitude and optimistic outlook certainly helps!)

And if you are reluctant to leave the safety of your home, the good news is that you don’t have to.

As we have noted in a previous blog,  you can connect with your mental health professional online. 

This system is quite simple: set up an appointment with your therapist but instead of showing up at her office, you can have an online session; there are several privacy protected (HIPAA-compliant) software platforms that are easy to use.

The take-home message right now is this: take good care of yourself. And remember that tough times don’t last.