As national mental health crisis emerges, LIFT continues to respond with efforts geared at prevention and early intervention.
May is “National Mental Health Month” (#NationalMentalHealthMonth,) a month dedicated to fighting stigma, providing support, educating the public, and advocating for policies that support people with mental illness and their families. It also draws attention to suicide, which can be precipitated by some mental illness.
With nearly half of Americans reporting the coronavirus as harming their mental health (poll: Kaiser Foundation,) it is a timely one at that. A federal emergency hotline for people in emotional distress registered a more than 1,000 percent increase in April compared with the same time last year.
The impact of pandemic on the lives of Americans looks different for all of us. For first responders, the fear of contracting the illness coupled with the trauma and powerlessness found in witnessing the loss of life on a broad scale, puts frontline workers at high risk, notably demonstrated by the two New York health workers without a history of mental illness who committed suicide within the past thirty days.
But what about those of us who are not frontline workers? We at LIFT are seeing an increase in marital disputes and domestic violence as partners turn on each other over work and financial stress, and crumble under the weight of attempting to homeschool children and perform their job duties without adequate childcare. Children are afraid of contacting the virus, grieving their classmates, teachers and coaches, and acting out without adequate supervision, structure or routine. Teens are concerned about meeting academic benchmarks without proper support, heartbroken about missing their anticipated milestones (prom, graduation, sports events, summer jobs and camps), isolated from their peer support systems, and hopeless about when they will be able to resume their normal activities. College aged students are petrified about entering the workforce, paying rents on first apartments, and launching in uncertain economic times. Substance abuse, suicidal ideation, self-harm, binge eating and other eating disorders, and postpartum depression have skyrocketed, and after eight weeks, there is no visible end in sight.
We have ample data on the psychological and societal implications of disease outbreaks, mass unemployment and economic downturns. We at LIFT believe that in addition to virus mitigation efforts, health system planning must begin to include mental health services to combat the psychological damage wrought by the pandemic. Early interventions, prevention efforts and a national response can and will make a notable difference in these early projections. The CDC writes: “Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.” LIFT is offering immediate pandemic response (An Open Letter To Our Community About COVID-19 — Lift Wellness) for our first responders, underemployed or career-transitioning Americans, and all new and returning patients at this time. If you or a loved one is experiencing new or worsening symptoms, please do not hesitate to reach out for help. You are not alone. Support is available, and while difficult circumstances are inevitable, suffering does not have to be.
