Anxiety

Though none are immune to COVID-19, the rippling impacts of the current pandemic are unequ

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.

There is a lot of anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is there concern about getting sick, but financial strain, social isolation and uncertainty of the future are contributing to an increasingly concerned and nervous society.

For all athletes, the outbreak of COVID-19 brought competition to a striking halt. Many who were ramping up their training regimen for an upcoming tournament, or helping their team strengthen their playoff seeding, were heartbroken to hear there were no more games to be played.

Telling oneself not to be anxious during the COVID-19 pandemic is like trying to tell water not to be wet. These are anxious times.

A cancer diagnosis brings a wealth of psychological challenges. In fact, adults living with cancer have a six-time higher risk for psychological disability than those not living with cancer.

What if you have the kind of anxiety that makes you feel trapped and panicky because of the stay at home orders due to COVID-19?

Hoarding behaviors range from the normal (i.e., acquiring and saving items we do not need and/or will not use) to the clinically diagnosable (i.e., having areas of your home that are not usable due to clutter). Most of us fall somewhere on this continuum.

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.

Parents can't be constant companions, teachers or saints at this time. You can be enough.