Is Post Covid depression real?

You're expecting output from your brain, while it's been affected by the virus.

Perhaps, instead, feed some input to your brain. Spend your time reading some nice books, memorise some interesting things, learn something fun. Input brings order and clarity to the mind.

Since you have all the time, now that you can't be productive anyway, spend that time creating some order in your mind. Feed your mind with all the stuff it's been lacking.

Aside from that, I find that vitamin D, magnesium, and iron supplements help with quick mental recovery from a cold.

Depression is one of the symptoms of Long Covid and some people are unlucky and get the entire range of them while others just end up with one or two. Covid seems to manipulate the blood brain barrier and gets into the brain and does some amount of damage while activating the brains immune system such as the Glial cells. The impact seems to be a range of neurological conditions. If its Long Covid then you most likely will recover, it could take a year or more. Alas many aren't yet recovering 2+ years later so probably wont.

Its possible it was caused by Covid, there are a quite a lot of Long Covid sufferers with just neurological problems.

Not Covid, but there were a few times I got sick and was depressed during and a while after the sickness.

There’s studies which suggest depression is tied to the immune system, so when your immune system is active it makes you more depressed. Pointing to links like how depressed people get sick less often (? idk if this is true), and how being sick makes people feel down.

Depression is a common symptom after many long or difficult illnesses, perhaps especially respiratory and cardiovascular ones.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7418220/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13054-018-2223-6

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-...

There is good evidence now that severe covid (early variants at least) causes atrophy of gray matter in a variety of regions, causing, e.g. loss of smell. Not sure if this is specific to covid however.

Yes.

As another data point: I got a severe flu a few years ago and felt inexplicably depressed during the illness and a week afterward. Everything in my life was great, so I could tell it was the illness that caused it. It resolved not too long after.

It's very plausible that there is a causal link between inflammation and depression or low oxygen and depression.

There is at least correlation between low oxygen over time and poor mental health, which we see in population studies of high places (suicide rates higher, for example).

Recent studies have linked depression to chronic inflammation. [1] Long COVID is also tied to inflammation.

I can only speak from my experience in battling (non-COVID) depression that as I have gotten my inflammation under control (better diet, herbal supplements, medication, alternative medicine), my pain and depression have eased significantly.

If you can, attack it from all angles. See a psychiatrist who can find a medication suited to your specific symptoms of depression. A therapist will be important, too. Maybe look into a chiropractor or massage therapist (depression can cause pain). Consider a nutritionist to help you with an anti-inflammation diet. Acupuncture, medical cannabis. I haven’t tried/needed all of these yet, but they’re tools I know I can tap into if needed.

Good luck, feel better.

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-asymmetric-brain...

[2] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/long-co...

I had COVID back in June. Still recovering from brain fog, fatigue and yes, mild depression. I can say mild because I suffer from depression as it is, so yes it's there. I don't want to do anything, getting out of bed is a chore and so on. What helped and helps me is sitting in the sun every day for half an hour. For some reason it gives me strength to apply myself and do some work for a few hours afterwards.

Unfortunately that's true. It doesn't happen right away, but changes in the body are noticeable after a while.

On the other hand, there are now all kinds of therapies aimed at post-covid recovery. It's not all that bad. You need to get over it even though it's going to take a long time.

Yes. But fortunately, Pfizer, Moderna, and other American Big Pharma's just happen to have some amazing new pills for this.

(as with treatment for Covid, expect prices to go up in the double digits after a year)

I wouldn't rule it out.

It’s just the clarity of thought that our lives will be in a cycle of pestilence and sickness until we die. Every 2020 fear of end of society will manifest in the next 6 months.

There really is not a lot to look forward to.