For years, you had a pretty solid routine. You never had trouble getting out of bed. You’d get up at around 6 a.m., get ready for work, get the kids ready for their days, make sure all the logistics were handled and then you’d go to the office. You’d come home, take part in any family-related activities, have some dinner, watch TV and go to bed at around 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. That was your week, and your weekends were pretty standard as well, although there was some fluctuation there with regards to times and specific activities.
As the entire human race knows these days, the world has been turned on its ear in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has overtaken the planet, forcing radical changes on every single person on Earth. You still work, but you don’t go to the office anymore. Your kids are still going to school, but only a couple of times per week for a few hours at a time. They spend the rest of the week on their computers. There are no youth sports or activities at night, and every day is starting to seem like every other day. It’s difficult to maintain any sort of routine when it seems like you rarely if ever leave the house.
Old Taboos Are New Norms
These days, it’s not unusual for you to stay up well past midnight and it’s even more common for you to wake up after 8 a.m. Why not? You don’t have to go anywhere except to your own computer to work, and you don’t have to drive anyone anywhere else. Since you’re not going to have to worry about being in front of people, getting up early or being out in the world, you realize that it’s no big deal if you have a few beers every night. Once again, why not? You can still function and life is pretty boring right now.
Yet, as time passes, that new norm of sleeping past 8 a.m. is starting to creep past 9 a.m. You’re actually starting to be late for meetings on your own computer, as if you’d have ever thought that was possible before. Instead of having a few beers after dinner is over and the kids are occupied for the night, you crack that first one as soon as you know you won’t be on Zoom anymore that day. It’s all seemingly starting to fall apart, and you barely recognize yourself anymore. You’ve gained weight, you’ve lost energy and you really, really have trouble getting out of bed in the morning.
What’s happening? Are you an alcoholic? Are you depressed? Is something medically wrong with you, or are you just doing what everyone else does?
The Pandemic and Sleep
Before considering whether or not you may have a substance abuse problem or a mental health challenge, you should understand the profound impact that COVID-19 has had on the world. There are countless studies and surveys in publication like the one linked here from the American Journal of Managed Care, or the AJMC, but this one states that a full two-thirds of Americans have had their sleep impacted by the pandemic, lockdowns and the like. You having trouble getting out of bed in the morning is hardly a rare phenomenon. It’s happening to millions of people.
The Pandemic – Mental Health and Substance Abuse
It should come as no surprise, however, that some people are having trouble getting out of bed because they’re having problems with substance abuse, whether it’s the first time or a relapse. Many others are encountering problems with mental health. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, published a report recently that showed that as of June of this year, approximately 40 percent of American adults reported that they were struggling with mental health or substance abuse challenges. Specifically, the reported problems broke down as follows:
- Anxiety/depression symptoms – 31 percent
- Trauma/stressor-related disorder symptoms – 26 percent
- New or increased substance abuse – 13 percent
- Seriously considered suicide – 11 percent
These are troubling numbers, as June was only a few months into the pandemic. It’s safe to assume that things could be worse – even much worse – by now. It’s also safe to assume that there are a lot of people who are suffering from substance abuse problems, mental health challenges or both that are not necessarily part of this reported 40 percent. Even if we take that number on its face, given that there are nearly 210 million adults in the United States, that means that more than 83 million people are hurting in one way or another that goes far beyond having trouble getting out of bed.
How Swift Recovery Solutions Can Help
It’s possible that you’re having trouble getting out of bed simply because your routine has been obliterated and you’re just not sure what to do and when. It’s also possible that you have challenges that need to be met, which could include mental health conditions and/or substance abuse problems, as those are hardly mutually exclusive. The bottom line, though, is that if you’re concerned about what’s happening to you, then you should at least take the time to find out if you could use some help before any problems get worse.
Swift Recovery Solutions is here to help. Pandemic or not, we’re ready to help people get better regardless of the specific type of substance abuse or mental health challenge they face. If you’re troubled by what’s happening or worried about a loved one, contact us as soon as possible. We’d like to talk to you from the standpoint of mental health professionals to give you some insight as to what could be happening and some input in terms of what may be a good next step for you to take.
The time to find out what’s going on is now, so you can take care of whatever may be troubling you. Contact us today.
