STRUGGLING WITH ANOTHER LOCKDOWN?
My Weekly’s favourite GP Dr Sarah Jarvis from TV and radio writes for you
It’s almost impossible to believe that this time last year, we’d hardly heard of Covid-19. The first case was confirmed at the end of January 2020, the first death on March 5. Since then we’ve locked down, opened up, gone into “tiers” followed by lockdown twice more. This time round, if my patients are anything to go by, has been much harder. Anxiety levels are up and people are really struggling with uncertainty.
The vaccine rollout, of course, seems very much the light at the end of the tunnel, but since it doesn’t offer 100% protection, you can’t go back to “normal”. As we don’t yet know if having the vaccine prevents you from carrying the virus and passing it on, you still ne eed to wash your ha ands regularly, wear a fa ace covering and so ocially distance.
More even than the fi irst time round, I’ve seen s an increase in patients p struggling mentally. m The first l ockdown was in spring – summer was on the way, the flowers were blooming and the days were getting longer. Somehow sunshine and warmer weather help make everything more bearable. We know many people struggle with mental health in winter – Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, is very common.
The symptoms of SAD are very similar to other forms of depression – not enjoying things you usually enjoy, feeling down/depressed/ hopeless, changes in appetite, sleep, concentration and energy levels. But people with SAD tend to sleep more than usual and feel more hungry, while in other types of depression it might be the opposite. If you’ve had any of these symptoms on at least half of the days in the last 2 weeks, speak to your doctor.
Many patients are also contacting me about anxiety. Some of their concerns are health-related, which is hardly surprising given how much we hear about Covid-19 risk being linked to having long term conditions like diabetes, heart or lung disease and an immune system that isn’t on top form. Health anxiety used to be called hypochondria – an obsessive, irrational worry about having a serious medical condition.
You may have health anxiety if you’re preoccupied with your health, check yourself constantly for new signs or symptoms, are always asking for reassurance, constantly look for information about health in the media or books or internet, or worry (when your doctor reassures
ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION AFFECTING YOUR LIFE? SPEAK TO YOUR GP AS ADVICE OR A COUNSELLING REFERRAL CAN HELP
you) that they may have missed something.
Other people are suffering from general anxiety. This could include feeling nervous, anxious or on edge all the time, having trouble relaxing, being so restless that it’s hard to sit still, being irritable, or constantly feeling something awful is about to happen.
There is some good news. Two of the suggestions I make most often to people with anxiety or depression are to keep lines of communication open with loved ones and be more physically active.
One of the key differences between this lockdown and the last is the ability to form a social “bubble” with one other family. While the rules are slightly different across the four nations, the principles are the same – if you live alone or without any other adults, you can bubble up with one other family. You can visit as often as you like, stay over and even have a hug – no social distancing required.
Clearly if you’re vulnerable, you need to take precautions to minimise your risk of catching Covid-19, even if you’ve been vaccinated. However, the fact that people haven’t been forced to lock away on their own for months this time round has been a huge boost to mental health.
Which brings us to the second change from the first lockdown. risk of exercising We now outside, know as the long as you’re well away from others, is minimal. So I actively encourage all my patients to go out once a day – it helps boost “feel-good” hormones and is great for mental health.
NEXT WEEK: Is it just an upset stomach?