Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on this country for almost a year as cases and deaths continue to climb. At the end of December I tested positive for Covid-19 through a rapid test by one of my employers. The first thing I did was make all the necessary phone calls to people I had recently been in contact with and then I called my primary care physician.
We went over the symptoms, how to treat them, if I could still workout at home and all the other particulars before hanging up the phone. My symptoms have thankfully remained mild during this, but when I got home and sat down to watch football something was off. My mind was racing and something inside of me just didn’t feel right. Then I realized what it was…anxiety.
I’m fairly certain I was born anxious, but I was diagnosed with anxiety in 2014. It didn’t take me long to realize that’s what I was feeling. My dad has an immune system disease and I had seen him days before, socially distanced, but we were in the same room. Thankfully he was fine and never had it. Then I started to wonder about everyone else who has experienced a positive test and if it has triggered anxious feelings in them.
The Pandemic itself has caused more anxiety according to a poll from KFF.org in mid-July 53% of adults in the United States reported their mental health had been negatively impacted by stress from Covid-19. That’s just the stress from the pandemic in general not from actually getting Covid-19.
According to research from the University of Oxford after a Covid-19 diagnosis nearly 1 in 5 people with Covid-19 are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder like anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months.
Those numbers reference an actual diagnosis, but how many people experience it and don’t know it? Reality is there is no way to tell what that number might be or to tell the future of what this whole pandemic might mean for mental health.
I wrote this to bring attention to the feeling of anxiety if someone tests positive, but I also wanted to offer some things that helped me deal with it.
Do Things You Enjoy: Kind of a no-brainer I know, but sometimes it really is that simple.
Safely Get Some Exercise: Consult your doctor on this and don’t over do it, but exercise is shown to open up and strengthen your lungs.
Routine: If the symptoms are mild try to maintain a normal routine to keep yourself feeling like you’re on track.
Read: It’s good to keep your mind active and busy.
Learn Something New: Most of us have something we want to improve about ourselves, so you’ve got time at home to figure out something you can work on and be better at and figure out how to apply it.
Catch Ryan Stone on Franchise Players – Debate for the Triad, every Saturday Morning at 11am on Tobacco Road Sports Radio!
