Chennai: Reading or listening to news headlines these days can be a daunting experience– there is not much positive news happening in the world.
For some relief, if you check social media, some feeds can make you feel lonely. In short, there is anxiety all around us.
The lockdown period is kind to those can cope and adapt, but for other battling mental health issues, it can have adverse effect.
News Today spoke to psychologists to understand the challenges such people face during this time. One problem they spoke about was Obsessive Compulsive-disorder (OCD) and hypochondria.
Psychologist and psychotherapist, Dr Rajameenakshi who is working with a Corona Special Project for National Health Mission, National Disaster Management and Chennai Corporation Tele-Counselling centre, says,”Many people are facing panic disorder. They think they have Coronavirus.”
Some others reach for help because they are tired having stayed inside their houses for close to 40 days. Loneliness is stressing them, as they cannot go out and meet their friends.
She even counselled people who have been addicted to restaurant food and cannot eat home cooked meals. Some said, “They hate their life”, she says.
In another scenario, a young couple who were distressed called saying they wanted a divorce.”They have seen each other the most in the past few weeks. Both of them are working professionals. Now, since they are working from home, if the husband asks for a cup of tea or coffee, the wife feels he is dominating leading to an argument,” she says.
Adding to this, she says, women in the house are the most stressed these days.”Sometimes the husband could have lost his job or there is no income. They do not have anyone to share their worries with. They have to keep the house running. Many women are getting their menstrual cycle twice a month due or have it delayed.due to the stress,” she says.
In such cases, we have counselled family members to pitch in to take up a household chore. Another psychologist Ranjithkumar who works for a private engineering college is currently volunteering for the Tamilnadu Health Mission Plan.
He says he had prepared strategies for his patients since the lockdown was announced. “His regular patients who had called him once a week or a fortnight now call him once in two days’, hinting at the widespread need for mental health support.”
For some people, even after doctors tell them they are fine, they have illness anxiety. So, how are such callers personally affected by the pandemic?
“They have questions on when this would end and how they will get back to normal life since their eating and sleeping patterns have changed. Some have not been eating while some have been binge eating and gaining weight, all these add to concerns.”
Psychologists have sketched out coping strategies for them. Some ask them to not watch news more than twice a day and not share WhatsApp forwards.
Another mechanism is to spend time productively by doing things they had been putting off due to lack of time.
While the lockdown seems to have given free time and made it easier for friends and family to catch up, it has not been an easier path for those with depression and borderline personality. “I have had a few telling me that their families were pressurising them to talk. This has adverse effects of them. We counsel the families in these cases, telling them what to do and what not to do.”
Ranjithkumar has also come across people who have had suicidal ideation, especially among those who are not working from home, those who face abuse and domestic violence.