Depression and grief

As a sufferer of depression, I – like many others – have strategies that help me cope. This can be meeting friends, hiking in nature, going to vegan events … but all these were stopped at a stroke when the lockdown came into force – no consideration at all for mental health or people suffering from mental health issues.
My father died suddenly on the second day of the lockdown. He lived a distance away, so the funeral was virtual – no opportunity to see or grief with my family. My mother was in a care home with Alzheimer’s and we were unable to visit her for months. We were unable to inform her that her husband for over sixty years had died for four months as it was recommended to do it in person. And personally, many months were spent alone and isolated – working from home and seeing others only on Zoom – no substitute for meeting in person, especially when grieving for a family member.
We arranged to spread my fathers’ ashes later in the year when we could meet – the week before they bought in the “rule of six”.
The first Christmas – always a family time – without both parents was “cancelled” and spent alone as the rules meant I could not spend it with my brothers even though we had planned to do so and taken sensible precautions.
My mother subsequently died in the care home – we will never know how much lack of contact with her family contributed to the deterioration of her illness.
Even a couple of years later, my mental health has not recovered to pre-pandemic times – and that will be the same for many, many others.