COLORADO, USA — In all the conversations we've had about COVID, symptoms, vaccines, and precautions, one thing we haven't talked as much about is the mental health effects of having COVID and the recovery.
A woman reached out to Next after having COVID about a month ago. She said she developed anxiety to the point that it has been impacting her day-to-day life. It took her a bit to make the connection between when she fell sick and when her anxiety developed.
Dr. Justin Ross with UCHealth said it's common for people to develop anxiety and depression after COVID.
"From a psychological development area, it makes sense following contracting the virus and struggling with all the elements that prop up anxiety," Ross said.
This is because having COVID and living through a pandemic are ripe with uncertainty, feeling a lack of control and threats to our health.
While many aspects of COVID are heavily studied, the impacts on mental health are left to be explored more.
At the same time, though, enough people developed anxiety, depression, and PTSD that they are listed as long-term COVID symptoms, along with headaches, shortness of breath and neurological symptoms like memory loss and brain fog.
Dr. Anat Geva, a behavioral health specialist with HealthONE, said COVID is playing out like other stressors.
"Sometime in the future, any stimulus that reminds us of that significant trauma, our body goes into fight or flight response," she said.
She also said people can feel more in control and work on coping mechanisms by reaching out for help.
The woman who reached out to Next said she asked her primary care doctor, who didn't have any availability for a few months. That was too long of a wait, and she has since been stuck trying to find help.
Both doctors recommended trying to reach out to mental health centers and therapists directly, while also checking insurance coverage.
Ross also said there are online platforms that have popped up since the pandemic, offering resources with both in-state and out-of-state therapists.
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