Effect of COVID on depression and mental health

[Lunificent]

I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced/ knows about a change in brain chemistry caused by covid, exacerbating mental health issues.
My 16 year old is autistic and has depression and a few other mental health issues. From about day 5 of covid, she started to experience much more intense feelings of depression and has been alternately desperately panicked, feeling as if she’s being watched, slightly manic - laughing a lot and very sad. It definitely seems more than the effects of being confined and more a change in her brain.
she doesn’t have core CAMHS support (removed due to autism diagnosis!), but I will try and get some advice today from the eating disorder service.
id be grateful for any thoughts from anyone here and for advice on how I can talk to dd. I’m conscious that I can make things worse by showing my worry.

I’m really sorry to hear that your daughter is not feeling well and is experiencing ill mental health. I’ve spotted this article which may be of help: news.sky.com/story/amp/covid-19-catching-coronavirus-increases-the-chances-of-depression-study-suggests-12543913

I also think the last few years will also have been very difficult and will have possibly had a bigger impact on younger people. The manic behaviour and feelings of being watched strike me as something beyond low mood. I would try to access some advice, maybe as a starting point with your GP. Good luck OP. You sound like a lovely, caring mum. She’s very lucky to have you.

Side effects will go away in 10-14 days, stick with it. The symptoms you describe are normal. I take Citalopram (same category as Sertraline), similar side effects for about 1-2 weeks.

I cried non stop on day of infection. I didn’t know l had it then. And it messed with sleep.

Sorry I didn’t reply earlier. Thank you all for reassuring info. DD got her first negative covid test result today. She’s much calmer but won’t leave the house.
I’m a bit panicked as she has GCSEs in a few weeks and has done no revision this Easter. Obviously revision is the least her concerns and I need to work hard not to transfer my anxiety about that on to her.

I'd feed her a higher protein diet than normal - dopamine and norepinephrinemon production are supposed to be partly linked to protein intake. SO its quite common to feel low when your under the weather as the body uses protein to fight infection meaning that there's less available to make the "feel good" chemicals.

Do you mean the mental health side effects of her covid infection?