Pandemic Depression Symptoms During COVID-19

Throughout the pandemic, there have been numerous reports on varying symptoms:

・Poor sleep
・Poor appetite
・Prolonged low moods
・Difficulties going to work or school
・Lack of motivation in work, studies, or housework
・Diminished focus leading to increased mistakes
・Diminished enjoyment in previously fun activities
・Increased consumption of alcohol or tobacco products

There are many other symptoms, but in general, the more of these symptoms that apply, the higher the risk of developing depression.

Excessive worry and overcautiousness can also cause additional stress. In a study across the elderly population in Japan, one woman reported that she wakes up many times throughout the night to make sure her sense of smell is still functional. She lost her job due to the spread of COVID-19, and when she finally found a new job, she was nervous about whether or not she was infected before her first day of work.

Many of us have become more sensitive to the little things, more easily irritated, and more short-tempered. This pandemic has changed our lives so drastically. The challenges in adapting to these new circumstances could manifest into increased sensitivities to what we were okay with previously. This is why we could be much more susceptible to depression than usual.

3 Ways to Prevent Pandemic Depression

Regular stress relief becomes essential to avoid pitfalls into depression. Below are three useful techniques for relieving stress.

1. Write Down Anxieties

Write down all fears and worries that come to mind on a piece of paper. Then, divide them into two groups of “resolvable” and “unresolvable.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is something that no one could have predicted. Sometimes there are limitations to what we can resolve under these unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. Make the decision to let go of what cannot be fixed and focus on what’s possible. Organizing these thoughts will help calm the mind because it visually clarifies our fears. Once we’re clear on our next steps towards bettering a situation, our follow up action will help combat these depressive states.

An easy stress relief method similar to this is the “negativity trash can” technique. It’s as simple as writing down the negativity we feel and physically throwing it away. It can be practiced simultaneously, so give it a try as well!

2. Journaling to Create Healthy Routine Habits

Keeping a daily journal is known to improve mental health. Journaling helps reconsider the way we live our lives and assists in stabilizing healthier routine habits. This can serve as a deterrent to excessive drinking, mild addictions, and binge eating.

A color-coded format for journaling is encouraged. For example, we can categorize by color:

• Black ink for work-related
• Blue ink for family relationships
• Yellow ink for personal matters
• Red ink for health-related

This way, it’s easier to reflect and reevaluate the activities we go through and develop alternative ways to make improvements.

3. Exercise

The spread of COVID-19 has made it challenging to communicate in person. As a result, many of us have fewer opportunities for physical activity.

Here’s an interesting study result. A large cohort study in the United Kingdom in 2020 found that people who walked slower had about a 66% higher risk of contracting COVID-19 than those who walked faster. It’s still unclear what the causal relationship is between walking speed and the risk of infection. Yet, studies have shown that walking speed is closely related to aerobic capacity. People with high aerobic capacity are reported to have higher respiratory, circulatory, and immune function, which suggests that people with slower walking speed may be more susceptible to infection due to lower levels of these functions,

Physical exercise is known to help with depression and improve our mental state. A lack of exercise can lead to various adverse effects, such as hormone imbalance and sleep disturbances. As we spend more time indoors, we need to find creative solutions to keep ourselves physically active while maintaining social distance regulations.

Surviving Pandemic Depression with an AI Counseling App

Unlike physical discomforts, mental discomforts are much more difficult to recognize. If discomforts persist and you still feel “off,” don’t be afraid to ask for help. The special circumstances and restrictions under COVID-19 can quickly cultivate a state of isolation and depressive moods. Make sure to communicate with family and friends by phone, email, and social media. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a specialist if support is necessary. There are plenty of online counseling services and medications available, so don’t hesitate to consult a doctor.

However, some people may feel uncomfortable talking to friends, family, or a counselor. For such people, we recommend an artificial intelligence (AI) counseling app. In the era we live in now, an AI can easily provide personalized counseling and support our daily journey towards bettering our mental health. Since it’s an AI app, there’s no fear of judgment, and we can seek help anytime, anywhere, whenever the need arises. SELFMIND is a fantastic AI counseling app if you’re facing mental struggles and have no one to talk to.

Let’s make sure we care for our mental health as we survive through this pandemic and navigate through the mental pitfalls.

If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!
→ Looking to improve your mental health? Try the SELFMIND app FREE for a week!

Image: Unsplash
Reference:
Kimura, M., Ojima, T., & Kondou, K. (2020). Implications for Older People’s Lifestyle During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). Japanese Journal of Health & Research, 41, 3-13.  doi:10.32279/jjhr.20200602

The post Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and Mental Health appeared first on SELF MIND.

The Basics of The Four Good Things

This technique is a modified version of the “Three Good Things” method.
You can read more about that in the article below:

In mental health care, keeping a diary is a rudimentary approach to stress-coping. A record of our daily state of mind allows us to see our situation objectively. This also helps us recognize cognitive biases so that we can correct them in the right direction. Given the benefits, it’s a frequently used technique in cognitive behavioral therapy.

The “Four Good Things” method was created by Professor Elaine Fox at the University of Oxford. The use of the diary format through this method effectively relieves stress and steers our thoughts towards a more positive direction. Here is the simple way to do it:

1. Write down one negative thing that happened that day.
2. Write down four positive events.

The positive events can be anything at all, as long as it’s something that makes you feel happy. Here are some examples:

・I was complimented on my work today.
・My family was in a good mood.
・I woke up feeling well-rested.
・The food I ate today was delicious.
・I saw my favorite actor on TV today.

The key is to write down one negative event that happened. In the same way that sprinkling a pinch of salt into a cookie dough can help bring out sweetness, awareness of a negative event will serve as a contrast against the positive. This allows positive events to really shine through to make a stronger impression on the brain.

While there is still little data on this Four Good Things method, Professor Fox’s experiments have confirmed that it has a higher stress-relieving effect than just writing down three good things.

Outshine Negativity With More Positivity

Unfortunately, negative events are more likely to leave an impression in our brains, creating a cognitive bias. For example, let’s say we hop on a train and feel pleased that “the train arrived on time smoothly”. This thought fades away pretty quickly. On the other hand, a negative thought like, “I just missed the train by a few seconds, and now I have to wait until the next one,” will leave a stronger impression on the brain. The stronger the impression, the longer the memory will be retained. Soon, we find ourselves repeatedly experiencing the same feelings every time a similar event happens. As a result, a cognitive bias is created in our minds, leading us to believe that, “I always miss the train by a few seconds. I’m so unlucky.”

In order to avoid creating this bias in our thinking, we need to counteract the impressions of negative events as they occur. Since negative events leave stronger impressions than positive events, counteracting one negative event with one positive event is not enough to achieve our desired outcome. The Four Good Things method aims to eliminate the impact of a negative event by fighting it with four positive events. The idea is simple. Even if something negative happened, if there are even more positive events to remember, the overall impression will turn positive.

If you’re asking yourself, “why am I always so unlucky?” or hold beliefs that, “things just don’t work out the way I want them to,” you may need to correct your own cognitive biases. We can definitely try to increase our stress tolerance and positivity using the Four Good Things.

Throw Away the Negative, Turn to the Positive

The Four Good Things method can potentially eliminate your negative cognitive biases and create a more positive mindset. Give it a try if you want to build a strong mentality to combat stress.

Having a coping mechanism on hand, such as the Four Good Things, keeps our mental health in check. This is just one of the many easy stress-care techniques you can try. Figure out what works for you and get into the habit of practicing. One of the keys to living a healthy and happy life is knowing how to properly cope with stress.

Image：Unsplash
Reference：
Fox, E. (2013). Rainy brain, sunny brain: The new science of optimism and pessimism. London: Arrow Books.

The post Instant Ways to Relieve Stress – The Four Good Things appeared first on SELF MIND.

The Widely-Used Method of Keeping a Diary

The “three good things” utilizes the popular self-care technique of writing in a diary. It’s very simple in practice. All you have to do is write down 3 positive things that happened that day, every day before bed. That’s all there is to it. What you choose to write down can be anything if it makes you feel positive. It could be little things that happened in your day, such as that your family was in a good mood, or you woke up in the morning feeling rested.

According to a study conducted by the University of California, subjects who practiced this habit for 10 weeks increased their resistance to stress by 25%. The three good things method has many positive benefits, including but not limited to:

・Increased feelings of happiness from reminiscing the positive
・Increased proactivity in finding the good in life, resulting in optimism
・Induces natural sleep when made into a regular bedtime habit

The one controversy experts have about this method is the frequency it’s practiced. Some say its best to practice it every day, while others say it’s more effective if done once a week. Moreover, because it’s a well-known technique, there are so many studies about its various perspectives, some of which claim that its effects on happiness are minimal. Just because it’s a commonly recommended method in self-help books, doesn’t mean that it works like magic for everybody.

Having said that, the three good things is definitely a very quick and easy stress care method that has potential for many good outcomes. The investment required in time and money are very low, so why not give it a consistent try!

Refine Your Ability to Find the Positive

In this world, there are people racked with stress, spending their days feeling gloomy – while there are others who have positive outlooks on everything, seemingly always happy even from afar. What is the difference between these two types of people? Of course, there may be inherent differences in personality, living environment, or social standing. But maybe, people with a higher sense of happiness are just “better at finding the positive in life”.

Many of us focus on negative experiences where we repeatedly remind ourselves of the bad. This leads our thinking to be more negative in general. In order to suppress these negative thoughts and practice positivity, we need to intentionally focus our consciousness on positive events.

The three good things method serves as a practice for turning your awareness to positive events. Once you make a habit out of it, you’ll acquire a strong mentality that’s resilient to stress.

Throw Away the Negative; Turn to the Positive

Practicing the ‘three good things’ method creates the potential to improve our sense of happiness and resilience towards stress. It’s perfect for people who want to build strong mentalities against stress.

Having coping mechanisms on hand, such as the ‘three good things’ method, keeps our mental health in check. This is just one of the many easy stress-care techniques you can try. Figure out what works for you and get into the habit of practicing. One of the keys to living a healthy and happy life is to properly cope with stress.

Image：Unsplash
Reference：
Jeffrey J. Froh , William J. Sefick , Robert A. Emmons

「Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study of gratitude and subjective well-being」

（Nat Hum Behav. 2017 May; 1(5): 0093）

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