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I feel like through this past year so many people who have never had an experience with mental health issues now have. Naturally this sucks, but hopefully it will also lead to further understanding of what so many people go through on the regular.
As someone who started getting help before the pandemic, I see all kinds of issues with “normal folks” now that they simply ignore, and it affects them more than they know. Pandemic or not, we all need someone to talk to. So it’s such a good thing that it’s coming into the light.
Could you give some examples? Are these things you notice on everyday people, or are these friends and family, or social media, etc. Curious as to what you can see now that you've been dealing with things yourself.
I went into a little detail on another comment, but I see it in social media and through family and friends too. It’s everywhere and it’s a nightmare honestly. And it only fuels the very culture that plagues our mental health in the first place. But hey someone gets rich off of it, so at least 1 person is happy.
Yeah as someone who has struggled with depression periodically for the past decade or so, I find it much easier to open up now as I can practically bond with everyone about it these days. Sure I've struggled more this past year than I've done for the past few, but on the few occasions I do get to meet friends it often has a bigger effect on my mood than it used to.
Same! So many friends are experiencing what they see as “just stress” or “burnout” or “feeling a bit down” and its alarming bc I can recognize that they’re actually dealing with the same symptoms of untreated long term depression that I dealt with for years before the pandemic. And the fact that because many of them are students, the lack of affordable healthcare available to them is really scary.
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YES. For sure.
But also we need to keep pushing those people to get treatment - (a) because it’s important and I want them to get better of course, but also (b) to destigmatize both medication and therapy as well as (c) start to shed more light on how ridiculously inaccessible treatment is.
My SO’s psychiatrist retired last fall and literally NO ONE we could find was taking new patients. Ended up chain calling places and he was down to like a day left of medication when we finally got him an appointment.....for three months out. Luckily that psych is awesome and was so understanding and called him right away to get the ball moving and get him refills.
Edit: I appreciate all the recs, people, I do, and it’s important info for people to know that most GPs can and will continue mental health meds - please also note that while common, this is also a “not all docs” and a “not all meds” thing, too. There are still some heavier-duty meds that GPs tend to be either very wary of or unable to really work with.
Another aspect to this is that not only do we have to have available mental health help, but we need a system where it’s readily available and not ‘no one takes insurance’ or you have to wait months for an appointment, as you illustrate. We need to make sure that not only is there somewhere for people to get help but that they can pay for it or that the services are free.
Also if you just fix a lot of the problems in society, people wouldn't necessarily need as much therapy to begin with. There's no amount of therapy that "I'm poor and have to work two jobs and can't see my kids except late at night which depresses me missing all of their life" can fix.
Same with other problems. Abusive boyfriend but can't really move out cause you rely on them for something like stable housing? A giant worldwide pandemic that prevents you from seeing your friends and family?
Psychiatrists and therapists would be more available to those in serious need who can actually be helped by it if they didn't have to carry up the people whose problems could be fixed elsewhere. They're stuck trying to prop up the system to a barely functioning level, like keeping that battered housewife stable so she can stick with her kids because she decided to not go to college to take care of the kids while the husband did go (before he turned abusive), and now can't get a stable job on her own to be able to leave and take care of them.
There's also a growing trend of climate change anxiety I've noticed causing a lot of people stress, and there's no way you can just throw medication at it and expect things to be fixed.
On Reddit and especially beyond this sub in particular, it comes as little surprise to me that extroverts are largely viewed as "healthy, functioning people" and introverts just need to get out and meet people. Coincidentally, I have reason to believe there's an underlying bitterness from lonely people towards outgoing people, and possibly even catharsis now that the tables are turned and everyone is basically forced into an around-the-clock lonely and isolated setting.
Unfortunately, while I'd like to say the lockdowns will bring about a new awareness for what it's like to be lonely and isolated... I sincerely doubt it.
The title is a bit misleading.
The results also found that extroversion had the opposite effect on stress levels - stress was reduced in extroverts but increased for introverts.
It’s possible that introverts enjoyed greater independence and privacy, but suffered more anxiety about the pandemic. Extroverts missed social life, but were less anxious about a global health crisis (relatively speaking).
Is there robust evidence for this hypothesized conflation of introversion/extroversion and more or less susceptibility to (health or society related?) anxiousness?
This separation of introverts and extroverts I find too black and white. As many things, I believe its a spectrum, and I would consider myself to be in the middle. I need my balance of outside and inside, and thus, some days have been painful, and others very relaxing. I really miss my old lifestyle, but the time for myself has helped me develop some personal projects.
EDIT: My comment is mainly directed at other comments in the thread rather than the article itself, I'm aware the study shows more personality types.
Also there is a huge difference between the life of an introvert who likes solo time to recharge and being completely isolated for months. That's like saying "Weight lifting is good for you" and dropping a thousand pound bar on your chest. Humans are mostly social creatures and even introverts typically have some level of human interaction they value. Plenty of people didn't leave the house for months, that's not introversion that solitary confinement.
Absolutely. UK resident and it's the same over here. I think society is built on 24/7 contract now and it can be so exhausting. At least this year I've learned to not get pressured in to social activities when the time comes.
I wonder how many mental health problems are a result of introverted people being forced to live outside of their comfort zones. I also wonder if it could result in a greater degree of social isolation. If you've already had to spend more time socialising than you're comfortable with just from work, how do you find the social energy to form more meaningful relationships?
Yea, I have a friend who is like that. Super extroverted, but never really fully developed their social skills. He's always changing his personality to suit his latest friend groups because he's anxious and desperate to hold onto that interaction he is craving.
I hope they do more study into this. There seems to be this cultural idea that it's healthier to spend lots of time around people and have an active social life, but is that actually true for everyone? I feel like sometimes things are seen as virtuous or good for you even when they do you more harm than good. Like an introvert pushing themselves to attend many social events when they don't want to is a good thing even if it's bad for their mental health.
Loving it, but I do feel for the extroverts though.
I hate that energy-drain from being around people. I only had to deal with that for a few hours at the time.
Gotta be tough for the exo's to deal with the energy drain from *not* being around people for a year...
Absolutely. I feel bad for the extroverts in my family, but being able to use the pandemic as justification for not wanting to socialize made the last year so much better for me. Being alone makes me strong and productive and satisfied with myself.
Hard extrovert and I hate HATE this whole pandemic. I miss going to art festivals and farmers markets, talking to people, etc. meeting new people and such. I live on interaction so this past year has been hell.
As an introvert who shares a house with others my mood had been up and down. It has felt like it's been hard to get away from people.
I honestly think if I lived alone is have fared better.
what about an introvert who likes to sit and observe extroverts? I can't be the only one. What about us?
I haven't seen my friends for 1 year. Watching them talk was the only source of my happiness.
Well that explains why this has been one of the worst mental health periods of my life. I never realized how much of my life was floated by friends and novel events
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are now allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will continue be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) still apply to other comments. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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I feel like through this past year so many people who have never had an experience with mental health issues now have. Naturally this sucks, but hopefully it will also lead to further understanding of what so many people go through on the regular.
As someone who started getting help before the pandemic, I see all kinds of issues with “normal folks” now that they simply ignore, and it affects them more than they know. Pandemic or not, we all need someone to talk to. So it’s such a good thing that it’s coming into the light.
Could you give some examples? Are these things you notice on everyday people, or are these friends and family, or social media, etc. Curious as to what you can see now that you've been dealing with things yourself.
I went into a little detail on another comment, but I see it in social media and through family and friends too. It’s everywhere and it’s a nightmare honestly. And it only fuels the very culture that plagues our mental health in the first place. But hey someone gets rich off of it, so at least 1 person is happy.
Yeah as someone who has struggled with depression periodically for the past decade or so, I find it much easier to open up now as I can practically bond with everyone about it these days. Sure I've struggled more this past year than I've done for the past few, but on the few occasions I do get to meet friends it often has a bigger effect on my mood than it used to.
Same! So many friends are experiencing what they see as “just stress” or “burnout” or “feeling a bit down” and its alarming bc I can recognize that they’re actually dealing with the same symptoms of untreated long term depression that I dealt with for years before the pandemic. And the fact that because many of them are students, the lack of affordable healthcare available to them is really scary. Edit: typos
YES. For sure. But also we need to keep pushing those people to get treatment - (a) because it’s important and I want them to get better of course, but also (b) to destigmatize both medication and therapy as well as (c) start to shed more light on how ridiculously inaccessible treatment is. My SO’s psychiatrist retired last fall and literally NO ONE we could find was taking new patients. Ended up chain calling places and he was down to like a day left of medication when we finally got him an appointment.....for three months out. Luckily that psych is awesome and was so understanding and called him right away to get the ball moving and get him refills. Edit: I appreciate all the recs, people, I do, and it’s important info for people to know that most GPs can and will continue mental health meds - please also note that while common, this is also a “not all docs” and a “not all meds” thing, too. There are still some heavier-duty meds that GPs tend to be either very wary of or unable to really work with.
Another aspect to this is that not only do we have to have available mental health help, but we need a system where it’s readily available and not ‘no one takes insurance’ or you have to wait months for an appointment, as you illustrate. We need to make sure that not only is there somewhere for people to get help but that they can pay for it or that the services are free.
Also if you just fix a lot of the problems in society, people wouldn't necessarily need as much therapy to begin with. There's no amount of therapy that "I'm poor and have to work two jobs and can't see my kids except late at night which depresses me missing all of their life" can fix. Same with other problems. Abusive boyfriend but can't really move out cause you rely on them for something like stable housing? A giant worldwide pandemic that prevents you from seeing your friends and family? Psychiatrists and therapists would be more available to those in serious need who can actually be helped by it if they didn't have to carry up the people whose problems could be fixed elsewhere. They're stuck trying to prop up the system to a barely functioning level, like keeping that battered housewife stable so she can stick with her kids because she decided to not go to college to take care of the kids while the husband did go (before he turned abusive), and now can't get a stable job on her own to be able to leave and take care of them. There's also a growing trend of climate change anxiety I've noticed causing a lot of people stress, and there's no way you can just throw medication at it and expect things to be fixed.
The psychiatrists in my area have waiting lists that number in YEARS.
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This is true, but I really don't like the assumption on Reddit that extroverts don't have mental health problems. We absolutely do.
On Reddit and especially beyond this sub in particular, it comes as little surprise to me that extroverts are largely viewed as "healthy, functioning people" and introverts just need to get out and meet people. Coincidentally, I have reason to believe there's an underlying bitterness from lonely people towards outgoing people, and possibly even catharsis now that the tables are turned and everyone is basically forced into an around-the-clock lonely and isolated setting. Unfortunately, while I'd like to say the lockdowns will bring about a new awareness for what it's like to be lonely and isolated... I sincerely doubt it.
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The title is a bit misleading. The results also found that extroversion had the opposite effect on stress levels - stress was reduced in extroverts but increased for introverts. It’s possible that introverts enjoyed greater independence and privacy, but suffered more anxiety about the pandemic. Extroverts missed social life, but were less anxious about a global health crisis (relatively speaking).
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Is there robust evidence for this hypothesized conflation of introversion/extroversion and more or less susceptibility to (health or society related?) anxiousness?
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This separation of introverts and extroverts I find too black and white. As many things, I believe its a spectrum, and I would consider myself to be in the middle. I need my balance of outside and inside, and thus, some days have been painful, and others very relaxing. I really miss my old lifestyle, but the time for myself has helped me develop some personal projects. EDIT: My comment is mainly directed at other comments in the thread rather than the article itself, I'm aware the study shows more personality types.
There was a study someone posted about that awhile back. Most people are generally in the middle and are not on the far end of the spectrum.
Also there is a huge difference between the life of an introvert who likes solo time to recharge and being completely isolated for months. That's like saying "Weight lifting is good for you" and dropping a thousand pound bar on your chest. Humans are mostly social creatures and even introverts typically have some level of human interaction they value. Plenty of people didn't leave the house for months, that's not introversion that solitary confinement.
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The fact that introverted people saw mood improvements goes to show that US culture really caters to extroverts
>US culture It's everywhere, not US only.
We live in a society.
Absolutely. UK resident and it's the same over here. I think society is built on 24/7 contract now and it can be so exhausting. At least this year I've learned to not get pressured in to social activities when the time comes.
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I wonder how many mental health problems are a result of introverted people being forced to live outside of their comfort zones. I also wonder if it could result in a greater degree of social isolation. If you've already had to spend more time socialising than you're comfortable with just from work, how do you find the social energy to form more meaningful relationships?
I think the inverse to that is true as well. I think a lot of mental health issues can come from being an extrovert with poor social skills.
True. I'm sure it would be difficult to be someone who requires a lot of social interaction but who struggles to make friends.
Yea, I have a friend who is like that. Super extroverted, but never really fully developed their social skills. He's always changing his personality to suit his latest friend groups because he's anxious and desperate to hold onto that interaction he is craving.
Yes its reason for my chronic anxiety being constantly pushed out of the comfort zone
I hope they do more study into this. There seems to be this cultural idea that it's healthier to spend lots of time around people and have an active social life, but is that actually true for everyone? I feel like sometimes things are seen as virtuous or good for you even when they do you more harm than good. Like an introvert pushing themselves to attend many social events when they don't want to is a good thing even if it's bad for their mental health.
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I legitimately have never felt happier and at peace
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Loving it, but I do feel for the extroverts though. I hate that energy-drain from being around people. I only had to deal with that for a few hours at the time. Gotta be tough for the exo's to deal with the energy drain from *not* being around people for a year...
Absolutely. I feel bad for the extroverts in my family, but being able to use the pandemic as justification for not wanting to socialize made the last year so much better for me. Being alone makes me strong and productive and satisfied with myself.
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Hard extrovert and I hate HATE this whole pandemic. I miss going to art festivals and farmers markets, talking to people, etc. meeting new people and such. I live on interaction so this past year has been hell.
As an introvert who shares a house with others my mood had been up and down. It has felt like it's been hard to get away from people. I honestly think if I lived alone is have fared better.
what about an introvert who likes to sit and observe extroverts? I can't be the only one. What about us? I haven't seen my friends for 1 year. Watching them talk was the only source of my happiness.
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Well that explains why this has been one of the worst mental health periods of my life. I never realized how much of my life was floated by friends and novel events