As the corona pandemic continues and human interactions decrease due to social distancing, the so-called “corona blue” phenomenon has been appearing more and more frequently.

Corona blue is a combination of the words, “Coronavirus” and “Blue,” meaning depression and lethargy caused by the spread of Covid-19. The corona blue phenomenon is very dangerous because it creates extreme depression which can cause accidents such as suicide.

Therefore, efforts to overcome this particular issue are necessary. There are a few ways suggested preventing the corona blue phenomenon.

   First, increase the amount of activity. Exercising is the most efficient way to accomplish this. However, due to social distancing, it has become hard to go to a gym or head outdoors to work out. Instead, exercising at home has been receiving a lot of attention from people as an alternative way of going out to stay in shape.

However, for those who are wary of exercising, there are still some other ways to increase your activity rate. For example, making dalgona coffee by stirring it with your hand instead of using a whipping machine, which was trending several months ago, is one good way to increase the amount of activity. It is important that people find their own personal way to raise their activity rate.

   Second, get enough sleep. According to medical experts, insomnia can lead to depression and vice versa. It is said that depression, which occurs when you are feeling severely sad for a certain period, may be caused by insomnia or poor-quality sleep. On the other hand, when we sleep well, there are countless health benefits such as reduced stress, increased learning and memory, and chemical waste cleaning in the brain.

   Third, know your psychological state accurately. Nowadays, various psychological tests are also attracted a lot of attention. Young people often share their test results of psychological tests through their SNS. Taking a psychological test helps reflect on your mental health and lets you start finding more ways to survive the corona blues.

   Lastly, it is most important to communicate with people who you trust. Talking with them about how you are feeling and requesting their help can heal your mental depression while overcoming the corona blues. 

   To people who feel as if they may have depression but do not know their exact condition, Professor Cho Cheol Hyun of the Department of Psychiatry at Sejong Chungnam National University said that he has developed inPHRsym, a Corona blue self-diagnosis app.

The main images of the inPHRsym application in the IOS app store, showing people the basic explanation of the app. Image courtesy of Sejong Chungnam National University.

   If you are suffering from unexplained depression, please try the self-diagnosis test on this app and figure out what your exact mental status is so that you can overcome it as fast as possible.