Yes, Social Distancing DOES Affect Your Mental Health | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

No, You're Not Going Crazy — Social Distancing IS Hard On Your Mental Health

It's necessary for our world's physical health, but it's brutal on our minds.

1677
No, You're Not Going Crazy — Social Distancing IS Hard On Your Mental Health

As we continue to practice social distancing because of coronavirus, we see that everyone is in panic and fear. Yet, we are taking the precautions by practicing social distancing, and of course, washing our hands. Yet, when we practice social distancing, our mental health could suffer. We are asked to stay shut in our homes and not contact the outside world to prevent the virus from spreading even more in our communities and our nation. It is true that we have technological resources, yet we ask is that enough for us?

As much as this generation cannot live without their phones, some people truly can't live without their friends and family.

There are people who are suffering from mental illness, and they cope by using communication. With social distancing, mental health counselors can't do their jobs of helping people. Even though we have sources such as Skype, WhatsApp, or FaceTime, it's still not enough for people who suffer from anxiety or depression. For people who suffer through mental health, they think of this like solitary confinement, where you feel alone and an outcast to the world. Being on quarantine gives us time to do things around the house, but is it enough?

Not only does being on quarantine can lose communication physically, but this can affect people who enjoy being outside. When people look outside, they see a beautiful day ready to be embraced. However, counties are locking down, ordering citizens to stay inside unless it's an absolute emergency — solitary confinement. But you CAN use things in your surroundings, even though people get tired of doing the same thing over and over again.

You don't have to have been diagnosed with a mental illness for this social isolation to impact you — it can affect anybody. If I'm being honest, it affects me. I'm sick of doing the same thing everyday. Doing the same routine. Being in the same room. After a while, it gets boring and annoying.

Yet, some people are looking at this quarantine as a vacation.

To everyone who is not taking this seriously, think about everyone who is suffering through this difficult time.

Think about the elderly with a weak immune system, who can easily catch this virus. Think about first responders who keep our communities in balance, even though they are risking their lives. Think about people in the health field, who are tired, and want to see their families, but they can't because of the crisis that is happening in our nation. Lastly, think about people who are suffering from mental health. People who are suffering from mental health have to stay in their homes with all they can do is the things around their homes. Doing the same thing every day until this crisis is over. It can be frustrating for anyone.

Think about them, the next time you do something out of selfishness.

Report this Content
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

2874
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

301976
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments