I’m struggling guys. I have postpartum depression and PTSD. Being with friends was the most effective coping method for me. I’ve been pretty stable psychologically for a couple of years now.

We’ve only been in isolation for a week and a half and my mental health has gone to shit. I feel so hopeless and so lonely. I’m trying to get into new hobbies and FaceTime people and get outside regularly but I miss my friends and my parents and my heart is aching. I know they’re saying we may be quarantined for over a year, but I don’t understand how we can all be expected to live in this horrible limbo for that long... human beings are social creatures. People need other people. Is it worth it to live a half life for so long? Is it worth it to see my 2 year-old walking around the house whimpering and crying because he misses his friend who literally lives a block away? Is it worth it to watch all of my hard work in coping with and recovering from PTSD go down the drain?

I think we will see the suicide rate skyrocket much higher than any death toll from coronavirus. I’m not suicidal, but this is the worst I’ve felt mentally in years. I think social distancing will claim far more lives than COVID-19 ever could.

EDIT: In response to the longer comment, I am doing everything I can to deal with this. I mention some of the things I’ve been doing (including video calling aka FaceTime) in this post. I am on a medication and it’s been very effective for me for 3 years now. I see a therapist as well.

Research does suggest that there will be more deaths by suicide, as there is a strong correlation between job loss and economic downturn and suicide rates. Here’s a link:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ccn.com/chillingly-scariest-coronavirus-death-toll-may-not-come-from-covid-19/