PRIME LIVING
Beating the pandemic
blues According to a recent Washington Post report, about a third of Americans feel they are suffering from anxiety and/or depression as a direct result of the stay-at-home and social distancing measures put into place around the country. People in hospitals and nursing homes can’t have visitors; people Eliz abeth are working remotely from home (sometimes with children who can’t go to Morse Read school); social support systems like churches, theatres, senior centers, gyms and get-togethers with family and friends are on hold. The scaffolding of your pre-Covid life has been dismantled, your daily rituals, schedules, and routines are all out of whack. Autonomy, competency, and connectedness are crucial elements of good mental health, and social distancing and stay-at-home orders severely impact all of them. Days drag along because you’ve got nothing to do and nowhere to go, and you can feel incredibly lonely, even when surrounded by family members who are also dealing with their own reactions to the “new normal.”
Quarantine depression While not the same thing as clinical depression, “quarantine depression” shares many of the same characteristics. For instance, a lingering fatigue, even when you haven’t done anything strenuous; feeling edgy or irritable for
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S ou th C oast P r ime T imes
no obvious reason; and lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities or in maintaining social relationships. At least 20% of people over 55 years old are already struggling with a mental health issue, and forced isolation can amplify existing mental distress. But it can also trigger situational mental distress in people who do not have a pre-existing condition. And when other stressors, such as financial, health, or relationship problems, are added to social isolation, mental health issues for seniors can rapidly spiral out of control.
Home alone: loneliness and
social isolation Twenty-eight percent of American
N ov ember /D ecember 2020
seniors – almost 14 million people – live alone. While living alone doesn’t cause loneliness, it can often contribute to a sense of social isolation. Loneliness is the feeling of being all alone, no matter the amount of social interaction. Forty percent of people over 65 feel lonely sometimes, especially widowed women who live alone. And women are twice as likely to become depressed than men, and so bear closer watching during times like these. Your mental health ultimately impacts your physical health. Social interaction, even if only online or on the phone, is crucial during times of social distancing. Don’t be afraid to let someone know
