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How to Cope with Being Alone During the Holidays
This holiday season is going to be quite lonely for many. With new lockdown orders, and in some areas curfews, many aren’t comfortable traveling or attending social gatherings. I have seen a number of posts and comments by friends and friends of friends about spending the holidays alone, which can be quite depressing.
We’ve already seen an increase in anxiety, depression, loneliness and isolation since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Suicide rates have also been on the rise. Cook County, Illinois and Fresno, California are just two major cities who have reported and increase in suicides this year with a 13% in Cook County so far compared with the same period last year. In Fresno, suicides were 70% higher in June than in the same month last year. The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine has seen a 65% increase in calls and emails since March, according to the organization.
According to the CDC, elevated levels of adverse mental health conditions, substance use, and suicidal ideation were reported by adults in the United States in June 2020. The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety disorder was approximately three times those reported in the second quarter of 2019 (25.5% versus 8.1%), and prevalence of depressive disorder was approximately four times that reported in the second quarter of 2019 (24.3% versus 6.5%).
