Protect your mental health during and after the pandemic: be open with your emotions, practise mindfulness and remember it won’t last forever

Even after vaccinations bring the pandemic to an end, many will struggle with the effects of social isolation, financial insecurity, ill health and loss

Experts suggest safeguarding your mental well-being by adopting a positive attitude and learning to be emotionally resilient

4-MIN READ4-MIN

Recent studies show that the pandemic has led to a rise in anxiety and depression, caused by bereavement, isolation, financial insecurity and fear. One of the ways to combat that is to share your feelings with family and friends, and seek reassurance, through video chats. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:30pm, 13 Dec 2020Updated: 7:53pm, 13 Dec 2020

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, Savita Gupta has been mindful about protecting herself against excessive worry and anxiety. Months of being confined in her Singapore neighbourhood and not being able to see her friends and family, coupled with the panic she experienced over the growing number of infections, made her fearful about what lay ahead.

“It was hard to accept that this was going to be our new reality for a long time to come,” says the speech and drama teacher. “I couldn’t go to the gym, had to cancel my travel plans, and couldn’t physically be in class with my students. With my regular routine out the window, I felt like I’d lost my sense of purpose.”

Like so many of us, Gupta also worried about job security, the economy, and her family’s well-being. Questions flitted through her mind: Would there be a long and painful recession? What if my elderly parents, or my siblings overseas, contracted the virus? What if there was a second or third wave and we had to isolate at home again?

“Watching the news multiple times a day and hearing about how the pandemic was affecting the rest of the world made me feel even worse,” she recounts. “I wondered if those dreadful feelings would last into 2021 and 2022.”

Like so many of us, Savita Gupta worried about job security, the economy, and her family’s well-being. Photo: courtesy of Savita Gupta

Gupta isn’t alone. Recent studies show that the pandemic has led to a rise in anxiety and depression, caused by bereavement, isolation, financial insecurity and fear.