A few months into the pandemic, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention warned that mental health diagnoses — anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide — were on the rise. Still, many people I know continue to say they are “fine” — or defiantly “fine, fine, fine,” as one friend answered when I checked in with him. To be honest, “fine” had been my go-to response when someone asked how I was doing, even as depression and what I often call its first cousin, anxiety, set in. “Maybe I can sleep through the rest of the pandemic,” I said to her one day, joking but not joking. To help one another, we need to acknowledge we need a hand, too.

Source: bd News24 February 16, 2021 05:37 UTC