COVID-19 and how to manage your mental health

27 March 2020 | Story Carla Bernardo. Read time 7 min.
Common mental health issues have been reported by people in lockdown, quarantine and/or isolation across the world. <strong>Photo</strong> <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-wearing-white-face-mask-3987215/" target="_blank">Pexels</a>.
Common mental health issues have been reported by people in lockdown, quarantine and/or isolation across the world. Photo Pexels.

As a result of the global outbreak of COVID-19, many are struggling to adjust to what will be our “new normal” for the foreseeable future: social distancing (or social solidarity), self-isolation, quarantine and, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent address, a 21-day nationwide lockdown.

If all of this is making you worry, feel anxious or down – you are not alone. You are certainly not without advice from experts from the University of Cape Town (UCT) on how to manage these experiences, particularly anxiety and depression.

“Broadly speaking, everyone needs to protect their mental health during this time,” said Associate Professor Kevin GF Thomas, the head of UCT’s Department of Psychology.

Thomas’s training is in clinical psychology and his specialisation is in neuropsychology. His research is focused primarily on modifiable causes of cognitive impairment and dysfunction, such as stress, anxiety and trauma, as well as disrupted sleep.

According to Thomas, those already experiencing mental health struggles – of whatever kind – may find that these struggles are exacerbated by the inability to attend face-to-face psychotherapy sessions, exercise regularly and engage in needed social contact, among other things.

A nationwide lockdown came into effect at midnight on Thursday, 26 March. Photo Pexels.

“I will give three specific examples of some common mental health issues people in lockdown, quarantine and/or isolation have been reporting across the world,” Thomas said.

The first is depression.

Those prone to depressive episodes may be deprived of needed protections against low mood, protections such as exercise and social contact. Being isolated might feed their tendencies toward rumination, and reading about the effects of COVID-19 across the world may increase their sense of negativity about their present circumstances and prospects.

The second example is generalised anxiety disorder.

“Those diagnosed with this disorder tend to worry excessively about world affairs, their health, the health of family members, and so on,” explained Thomas.

While in the current circumstances these worries may appear to be appropriate at first, if they are not checked by some positive reframing of the situation – such as the lockdown may be inconvenient in the short term, but in the long term it is proven effective at slowing infection rates – then there can be a spiralling of negativity and increased anxiety.

The third example is post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Some people might find themselves confined in spaces with individuals who have inflicted violence, abuse or neglect upon them,” said Thomas. “This confinement can trigger memories of those prior negative episodes and can reawaken previously dormant traumatic episodes.”

Expert advice

To help manage the mental health struggles people might be facing during this time, Thomas shares some advice.

Lockdown, social distancing, isolation and quarantine does not mean that all social contact must cease. We are fortunate to live in an age where social media allows us to remain in touch with friends and family members who are physically distant from us.

“I would therefore advise judicious use of social media as a means to protect mental health.”

The lockdown does not mean that all social contact must end; however, it’s not wise to “furiously” scroll through social media in search of COVID-19 information. Photo Pexels.

The keyword in the previous sentence is “judicious”. It’s not wise to furiously scroll through social media in search of COVID-19 information – an endless loop of bad news over which you have no control is a recipe for increasing stress and anxiety. Thomas therefore recommends limiting news intake to discrete, and brief, periods such as 30 minutes in the morning and/or 30 minutes in the evening.

Structure your days. People who are used to externally imposed structures on their daily activities, for example students and corporate workers, might find themselves wondering how best to spend their time. That sort of uncertainty can lead to increased levels of stress and anxiety. Have a period you dedicate to work tasks, make mealtimes as special as you can, take time to exercise, and celebrate mini-anniversaries (“One week into lockdown! Only two more weeks to go!”).

Be aware of how your relationships with others are being affected by the lockdown. Family ties, even the strongest ones, can fray when people are forced to spend whole days and weeks around one another with no breaks. Schedule some time when you can be alone, with a book or a podcast or something else that makes you happy and takes you out of your immediate family orbit. Parents of young children might want to schedule times when one of them is with the kids while the other works, and to then switch after a few hours.

Sleep is very important for emotion regulation. Photo Pexels.

Sleep regularly. Healthy sleep is important for emotion regulation, so it’s important to maintain your normal sleep habits. Do not use your bed for work or daytime reading – try to limit it to your regular night-time activities.

Finally, maintain contact with your mental health professional as much as possible. Some therapists are fine with Skype, Zoom or WhatsApp sessions. Others are okay with email check-ins and some might be okay with phone sessions.

“It is best to ask about this as far ahead of time as possible to make sure that your therapist is available to you in some form,” said Thomas.

If you cannot have contact with your regular therapist, there are some free online and telephone counselling services he suggests, such as the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, the Centre for Interactive Mental Health Solutions and 7 Cups of Tea.

Please note that there are paid offerings for the latter two, but there are free sessions as well. 7 Cups of Tea offers free peer-to-peer “emotional support”.

Thomas has no professional or personal interests in any of these organisations.

Who can I contact with queries about COVID-19?

National Department of Health WhatsApp service 060 012 3456 (WhatsApp “Hi” for access to relevant information)

National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) hotline 0800 029 999

Student Wellness Service

  • 021 650 5620 (office hours)
  • 021 650 1271 (after hours)
  • 021 650 5685 (staff only)

Independent Counselling and Advisory Services (ICAS)

The all-new ICAS On-the-Go app lets you chat live with an ICAS counsellor, giving you and your family access to 24/7/365 health and wellness info.

  • Please call me: *134*905#
  • Email uct@icas.co.za
  • Telephonic counselling 080 111 3945

UCT Coronavirus Disease 2019 web page: bit.ly/UCTCovid-19


Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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UCT’s response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

 

Campus communications

 
2022

Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
UCT Council
March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
UCT Council
COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

 

“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


Thank You UCT Community

Frequently asked questions

 

Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.



If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
 

 

“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
– Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

 

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