Coronavirus and Mental Health

cathalreilly89

I have read some coverage on how the Coronavirus can effect your mental health. While the effects of the Coronavirus are devastating to countries (like Ireland) and individuals, I have not found that it has impacted my mental health. However, I do realize the impact it could potentially have on our mental health.

Fear and anxiety can be stressful and have a negative impact on our health. While, this blog is not an advice medium, I have found that talking about your worries to people you trust can be helpful in times like this. Voice your warranted and informed worries and fears with your family, friends, partners or those around you. I have found in the past that this has helped with my personal stress and anxieties.

I am not sure how helpful it is to scroll through social media articles and columns even though I am a culprit for this myself. We are being bombarded by news headlines on a daily basis as it is but there is a certain level of “fear-mongering” taking place on social media around the virus and I would avoid Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc until the virus has run its course. Why not watch a movie instead – get the popcorn at the ready and sit back and let your mind take the focus off your anxieties around this devastating virus.

While, the virus has and continues to have serious effects on the world, just remember to keep yourself safe during this time for this too shall pass.

I have found the following articles useful in respect to mental health and the coronavirus: HSE website article on same. Thanks.

SuperRabbit

Thank you for this thread it's a really good idea, that link you mentioned is great. https://www2.hse.ie/wellbeing/mental-health/minding-your-mental-health-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html

I'm going to try and look at the news once a day and once a day only. I'm going to try to let our politicians worry about the worst case scenario and try to focus on what I can do in the present and that's it.

Some people are in the habit of thinking all worries are imaginary, all sources of fear are imaginary, and I think that makes them complacent sometimes. We will not do that, we will stay alert, we will do what is asked of us, but we must still be kind to ourselves while doing tthis.

The Black Oil

Here are some notes for clinical psychs from ACP UK. https://acpuk.org.uk/cp_guidance_covid-19/

Resources for psychiatrists. https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2020/03/covid-19-mental-health-impacts-resources-for-psychiatrists

And easy read info if you're working with those with disabilities. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u51V-CTVo5iAhMcsl-mKx5mMyB3KjhY6/view

SuperRabbit

Numbers to call https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/connecting-for-life/news/supports-and-services-during-covid-19.html

If anyone is curious, i am of course failing to limit the news to once a day but i am succeeding at limiting it

The Black Oil

Gabbyss wrote: »

I recently read an article on the Internet that during the lockdown, the number of cases of domestic violence increased. What do you think could lead to this?

May be of interest.

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/18/837855166/reports-of-domestic-violence-rise-in-recent-weeks-amid-coronavirus-lockdowns?

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/01/860739417/domestic-abuse-can-escalate-in-pandemic-and-continue-even-if-you-get-away

cyllyn28

Encephalitis.....

In 1918, there was a wave of encephalitis problems parallel to the bronchitis infections. This is going to be a problem over the next few years. Simply putting it, the virus infecting the brain and the autoimmune response, leading to a brain injury. The scale of these infections is not known, but they have been happening. It might take years, but cases of encephalitis lethargic are likely to present.

The Black Oil

Disappointing.

https://twitter.com/BBCRealityCheck/status/1277655661975912450

cyllyn28

The Black Oil wrote: »

Disappointing.

https://twitter.com/BBCRealityCheck/status/1277655661975912450

No.....People have already been treated for Corona virus encephalitis. Hospitalisations for stroke like symptoms. The influenza is when the virus infects the lungs, primarily. The encephalitis lethargica epidemic, running parallel to the 1918 influenza epidemic was caused by the same virus, but from brain infections. I've already seen interviews with people who've been hospitalised and released after getting the brain infection from Covid.



How encephalitis lethargica is caused; there's a viral brain infection, the autoimmune system attacks the brain tissue, and this damage can take years to develop into encephalitis lethargica. It's a particular site on the brain that causes encephalitis lethargica. It took an incredibly long time for the medical profession to figure out what was wrong with these people. The cure for lethargica is counter intuitive, you wake these people up by giving them a sleeping pill.



Limbic encephalitis, the problem is known, the scale of the problem isn't known. Researchers have been trying to figure out, how much might autoimmune related encephalitis be a contributing factor in things like dementia. Treating people with serotonin reuptake inhibitors is not going to be useful, if what they actually need is autoimmune mediators.



What's different about the Covid virus is it's statistically a little nastier than the common cold virus, but in normal years the same infections will arise, but less people get very sick. And like Covid, they are exceptionally nasty in conjunction with autoimmune dysfunction.

cyllyn28

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brains-idUSKBN24837S

The Black Oil

If you've 2 hours to spare, here's the Oireachtas hearing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1clyt7E9ss

The Black Oil

BBC File on 4 with a recent episode on this. I listened to it earlier this week. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000kp64

The Black Oil

Mental health supports being provided during pandemic by ‘well intentioned’ but untrained people

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/mental-health-supports-being-provided-during-pandemic-by-well-intentioned-but-untrained-people-1.4466576?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The head of the Mental Health Commission has expressed concern about people, who are not properly trained or qualified, trying to support people online with their mental issues during the Covid-19 pandemic.

John Farrelly said it is “really important” that those who are offering support online have the proper knowledge to ensure they “know how to help someone”.

“What I would be worried about, which I have seen during Covid, is an awful lot of people who are very well-intentioned wanting to do things online and digitally and from what I’ve heard and seen they wouldn’t be capable of supporting people,” he said in an interview with The Irish Times. “They’re not trained properly to actually facilitate something.

“So they’ve gone through something themselves and they’ve come out the other side so they might be setting up a group but they don’t have the skills or competence to actually do it.

“I’ve definitely noticed that during Covid, there’s this sense that peer support will always get you over the line but that’s not necessarily true. You also need people who know what they’re doing.”

Nothing at all surprising there, eh?

Freedive Ireland

I'm not sure exactly what he is saying. I have seen a lot of FB groups set up but they seem to be public for the most part. Certainly the moderators of these groups may be in a position to take advantage of a vulnerable person but I think that would be the case on any social media platform/public space.

JuliusCaesar

The Black Oil wrote: »

Here are some notes for clinical psychs from ACP UK. https://acpuk.org.uk/cp_guidance_covid-19/

Resources for psychiatrists. https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2020/03/covid-19-mental-health-impacts-resources-for-psychiatrists

And easy read info if you're working with those with disabilities. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u51V-CTVo5iAhMcsl-mKx5mMyB3KjhY6/view

There are a free guide on psychologytools.com on Living With Uncertainty and Worry in Covid Times (I think, some such title).