August 27, 2021

Post-Covid Depression & Survivor's Guilt

This week I checked in with a client who had covid a few weeks ago and she reported feeling surprised at her low mood. She explained feeling depressed for some time after her recovery but has since been feeling a lot better. I have heard these post-covid mental health effects a few times now over the course of this past year and I decided to investigate.

Psychological Effects of Covid

Covid has caused so many changes in our lives and for many, this has had an impact on mental health. Some factors that add to the stress and impact of Covid on mental health are:

Loss of income;
Isolation;
Fear of Infection;
Rapid change;
Working from home;
Covid-schooling;
Infection;
Recovery;
Infection of loved ones or someone you know;
Death of loved ones or someone you know;
News reports of infection and death rates add to fear and anxiety.

However, research suggests that the psychopathological effects stem both from the effects of the virus on the brain and from stresses associated with Covid in general.

Covid & The Brain

According to JAMA Neurology there are several neurological effects of Covid on Covid patients which include: dizziness, headache, impaired consciousness, seizure, nerve pain, and impairments of taste, smell & vision. Further research indicates neuroinflammation caused by Covid infection may be the cause of the prevalence of psychopathology including delirium, depression, anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Post-Covid Stressors Affecting Mental Health

For those who have had Covid, there are added stressors that are likely to contribute to mental health such as:

fear of illness,
uncertainty of the future,
stigma,
traumatic memories of severe illness
social isolation during infection
ongoing recovery
long-term symptoms post covid,
reinfection,
consequences of severe illness on loved ones, especially children.

I think many who have recovered from Covid can for the first time process what they have survived. This reflection on the impact of the disease on the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of life for the self can have a great impact on mental health. Also, reflections on the effects of the illness on the people around the patient especially around thoughts of what could have happened if the person didn't recover.

Survivors Guilt

Another factor that may have an effect on mental health post recovery from Covid could be survivor's guilt. This is an overwhelming feeling of guilt experienced by the survivor that he/she survived when someone else didn't. I know so many people who have recovered from Covid while a family member perished and the guilt experienced by the survivor has a significant impact on their mental health.

Symptoms of survivor's guilt include anxiety, depression, headache, nausea, sleeplessness and fatigue. These symptoms can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and most recently survivor's guilt has been viewed as a form of PTSD (Click here for more information on PTSD).

EFT Tapping Script - Post-Covid Low Mood

Identify what you are feeling about your low mood. Take a measurement on a scale from 0 - 10 (zero being no discomfort felt and 10 being the most discomfort felt).

Setup Statement:

Even though I am feeling moody and just not myself, I love and accept myself completely;

Even though I am feeling depressed and I am feeling low, I completely and utterly love and accept myself;

Even though I have recovered from Covid and I should feel happy, I am overcome with sadness and anxiety.

Tap on each tapping point and make a statement about your experience.

I am feeling really low;

What is going on here?;

I can't believe I have just gone through Covid;

What if I didn't recover?

What would have happened to my loved ones?

What would have happened to my children?

They would have had to endure the loss and trauma on their own;

I feel overcome with this feeling of depression;

I sometimes struggle to sleep;

Other times I just want to sleep;

I was so scared;

I can't believe I had Covid;

I can't believe I survived;

What if I hadn't survived?

The thought scares me;

It feels like my mind is now catching up with what my body went through.

Keep tapping until you reach a zero on the measurement scale. Make sure to adapt this tapping script to what you are experiencing specifically.

EFT Tapping Script - Survivor's Guilt

Identify what you are feeling about your low mood. Take a measurement on a scale from 0 - 10 (zero being no discomfort felt and 10 being the most discomfort felt).

Setup Statement:

Even though I have survived Covid, I feel sad that others didn't;

Even though I should feel happy that I survived, I feel guilty;

Even though I have gone through Covid and have come out the other side of this, I still feel so bad that I survived and others died.

Tap on each Tapping Point and make a statement about your experience using this script as a guide or prompt.

I am sick to my stomach;

I am supposed to feel happy;

But I feel ashamed and guilty for surviving;

Why me?

Why did I survive?

Why did he/she/they have to die?

And I lived;

I don't understand it;

Why me?

Why not him/her/them?

I feel so sad and guilty;

I don't want to tell anyone how I feel;

I feel like I don't deserve to be here;

Why did I make it when so many others don't?

I'm meant to feel happy and relieved;

I do sometimes;

But then I remember that I shouldn't;

I remember that I can't;

How can I be happy when there are people who didn't survive this?

I feel so bad for being alive;

Every time I see another statistic;

Every time I hear of another person who died;

It hits me that I shouldn't be here;

I am so sorry.

Disclaimer

If you are feeling low and you feel that it is having a negative impact on your left, please consult your doctor and/or mental health professional for help. You don't need to suffer alone and most importantly, you don't want your symptoms to get worse.

You can use EFT Tapping alongside medical treatment of your mental health.