Loneliness and Coronavirus – why Lockdown is affecting our mental health

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Picture credit Leonidafremov - Deviant Art

Right now, is an extraordinary time in our history, a pandemic this deadly has not taken place since 1918. The government is telling us to stay at home to save the NHS and each other. Coronavirus has changed our lives completely in less than a month.

One of the biggest changes is how we can spend time with other people, we are only allowed contact with the people we live with. Otherwise it a telephone call a zoom meeting or WhatsApp.  We as humans need contact to thrive and many of us struggle to achieve this using Zoom or WhatsApp.

We will all have started to feel lonely by now We feel isolated. The fact that we don’t have the amount of real connection and contact with people we want causes us to feel some emotional pain. For some, it’s a low flat feeling that something isn’t right but for others, it’s an intense feeling of deprivation and pain. As always, we are all individual, and how we feel our loneliness depends on our own coping mechanisms and the reasons behind why we feel that way.

Humans are designed to be connected and in a relationship with others. It’s part of our reptilian brain i.e. we are born with it because we needed others to survive when we lived in tribes. This part of our brain also holds other basic emotions like anger and fear.

Physically prolonged loneliness can lead to an increased susceptibility to heart disease caused by stress without support or a weaker immune system as when we are lonely, we produce more inflammation-related proteins in response to stress.  The brain reacts differently when we are lonely. It processes the lonely feelings in a similar way it processes danger and threat which is by heightening our cortisol when we wake and not letting it drop throughout the day. This leads to physical pains in the stomach, weight gain, insomnia and diabetes.   Add to that the fact we are more liable to not prioritise our self-care when we are lonely. So not wanting to cook for just one, or being physically inactive, can result in loneliness seriously compromising our physical well-being.

Mental health is also affected by loneliness as depression is common when we are lonely. We feel unhappy, isolated, in pain and turn those feelings inwards.

 Loneliness is associated with the risk of dementia as loneliness is associated with loss of cognition in old age. 

Addiction is often used when we feel in so much pain that we pick a substance to dull the edges which leads to a substance to blot out all of our feelings of being alone.

So, what can we do during lockdown to help us deal with loneliness?

Some form of contact is better than none, make it a daily routine to contact someone somehow and chat with them.

Join groups that arrange group online activities from singing to quizzes to gardening here are lots of online groups

Write down how you feel and look at what you write and track the impact of coronavirus on your mental health. That way you have a grasp on if you are feeling better or worse than before.

Create a Coivd19 routine, what time you get up, plan your day every day gives you a sense of purpose, always include contacting someone in there.

Now is the time to get to know your neighbours, the social media platform Nextdoor, will connect you with people in your area, helping you to find people who need help or who could help you.

Get active, indoors and outdoors exercise helps to make you feel better. The endorphins are the best antidepressants you can get.

If none of this works for you during the lockdown period then find a good counsellor to talk to, so you can find coping strategies. Give me a call on 07769 152 951 I have some spaces left for online counselling, video counselling or telephone counselling

Finally, if you feel really low and need someone to talk to remember the Samaritans are open 24hours a day 7 days a week.

https://www.samaritans.org/

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