Mental Health

Today I said thank you to the staff at the senior living facility where my 97-year-old grandmother lives.  At the outbreak of COVID-19, she found herself hospitalized with bacterial pneumonia – nothing related to COVID-19.  Just poor timing.  

As I was being discharged from the hospital after an 11-day stay, a friend texted me: “The hard part’s over!” In one sense she was correct – I’d completed the antibiotics for COVID, my sepsis was gone, and my pneumonia and kidney function were improving. But that was just the physical battle.

Racial and related inequities have immensely traumatized Black and Brown citizens of the United States for centuries.

In an already challenged, and often under-resourced mental health care system, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in mental health needs across the globe^1,2.

People deal with stress in different ways and while there is no right or wrong way to deal with the stress of a pandemic, I figured it would be helpful to share a few ways that I have found balance during this time.  

Find Acceptance

Overnight the world changed. Public health terms have become common phrases; we hear people talking about flattening the curve and social distancing. Scientists have become household names, with Dr.

As many in the United States (US) stay home and practice social distancing to protect themselves from COVID-19, individuals from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds face heightened barriers and risks.

Coronavirus has turned our world upside down. Many businesses that typically require being present in person are shut down and unable to operate.

Before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, many of us in mental health became aggressively helpful. We gave interviews to media outlets small and large and wrote content for wide distribution. Just before the World Health Organization made its declaration, some of us were already fatigued.

Discussing mental health is difficult for everyone, especially for those who experience their own mental health challenges. Our society has made this a taboo topic, which only exacerbates the issue.