Prolonged Self-isolation due to Lockdown made many people feel depressed, powerless. Actor Sushant Singh Rajput ended his life committing suicide due to depression, two long months isolated at home, failed relationships, memories of mother, no major projects in hand, his former assistant’s sudden suicide and much more to his pain.
Dr. Vishal Sawant, a Consultant Psychiatrist practicing in the city of Mumbai told Afternoon Voice “The lockdown is not just a restricted lifestyle that is new to us, but has also led to sudden new stressors for people whether it’s job insecurities, financial stressors, loneliness etc. A lot of people also at these times get support from their social support systems like friends and family which might not be available right now. Add to this the fears of the corona virus and getting the illness and information pouring in about rising cases and deaths does not help the situation. These reasons lead to anxiety or depression in people and would definitely add to the problems of people who were already suffering from anxiety or depression even before the lockdown”.
Vivekk Mantri, Emotional Wellness Coach explained that, “It’s not only the elders and professionals but even School children suffer from tedium, but also nervousness. Adults have to balance family life and responsibilities, but also balance their professional lives and cope with financial worries. Older people dread the infection and worry about the continuation of services on which they depend. The alcohol and smoking addicts had the toughest time, and some of them even resorted to domestic violence.,” Because of the way isolation and quarantine are set up, that made people feel more depressed and powerless, he added. People, especially the elderly, who remain at home and maintain social disconnection, are at a greater risk of depression and anxiety. he further stated that “Even when lockdown is released, people are going through different kinds of challenges, because their routine shift was a big problem, their sleeping time, watching TV, and easy time all of sudden came to jetlag. Now everyone is running to meet the needs”.
Dr. Abhilash who deals in Siddha Medicines told AV, “Post lockdown whoever visited us were in stress and they took stress relief treatments. The celebrity deaths are hyped that’s why we commoners get to know that they have stress or depression in their life. From common man stating in 10/10 rooms to migrants and many working-class people had gone through severe depression and many died during this isolation period, but these deaths are hardly reported”. On Sushant Singh’s suicide he said “For today’s generation, success is easier to handle than failure. People who succeed too fast, do find enough time to handle failure. It’s important to groom youngsters to handle both these imposters in the same manner. He had everything that people only wish they’d but he didn’t have was that hope which he needed the most. But there should have been someone who could have played that special role of motivating him through whatever he was going through that led this brilliant actor to do this. Unfortunately, no one seemed interested because Bollywood isn’t a fraternity anymore.”
“Covid-19 indeed has taken a toll on human mankind. Yes, we are losing lives and livelihoods while fighting this pandemic. ISOLATION, has turned out to be the strongest weapon to fight this pandemic and the same ISOLATION is seeping the sense of “Loneliness” and “Depression” in almost everybody. Here comes the need of “Relationships”, “Family” and “Friendship”. In the current era of digital revolution, “Social Distancing” should not limit us to approach our Family and Friends. Let’s keep social distancing to fight Covid-19. Let’s stay connected with family and friends to fight Isolation and Depression”, said Dr. Deepak Chaturvedi, MD Medicine.
The coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown has made people resort to social distancing and self-isolation but according to the expert’s long period of isolation had adverse effects.
Governments around the world have been urging the people to self-isolate themselves in their homes as the deadly COVID-19 continues to spread its tentacles, killing millions and bringing our daily lives to a standstill. But how long will a person restrict himself to the four walls of a room? Researchers say that a long period of isolation and solitary confinement may make humans feel depressed and powerless. Powerlessness escalates depression and hopelessness. People feel powerless when they do not have control over everyday aspects and decisions they make. There are marked differences between how the people of different age groups react to the time of crisis in different ways. People with depression may be less likely to modify their moods with uplifting activities.
Senior study author Guy Goodwin, from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, says “When we are down, we tend to choose to do things that cheer us up, and when we are up, we may take on activities that will tend to bring us down. However, in our current situation with COVID-19, lockdown, and social isolation, our choice of activity is very limited.”
Globally, more than 264 million people have depression.
