- October 30, 2024
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How is COVID-19 affecting people’s mental health? What are some things you can do if you’re feeling overwhelmed, or just want to make sure you’re staying mentally healthy as well as physically healthy?
Nicole Sharbono, a licensed mental health counselor and vice president of Volusia County Services for SMA Healthcare, shared her thoughts.
What are some of the mental health concerns associated with a situation like this?
It’s not unusual to see increased levels of anxiety, or new symptoms of anxiety for people who have never experienced it before. Depression, feeling helpless, hopeless — things like that. And for people who have a more serious mental illness, during a stressful period like this, it wouldn’t be unusual for those symptoms to be exacerbated.
What are some of the concerns you’re seeing in clients at SMA?
We’ve seen a pretty significant increase in clients who are unemployed. The stress of having to homeschool children — that is a scenario that many parents don’t feel prepared for. ... And then on top of that is the parents who are helping their children understand this time frame, as well. Children process things very differently and react to things differently than adults do, so that has come up in many conversations.
And, increased substance use. I see memes or jokes out there about how the liquor stores are essential businesses, but for some people, it’s a very serious concern, and their previous history of substance use has increased or they have started to develop some pretty unhealthy coping habits.
I think it’s also important to note, when you talk about the loss of jobs, it’s not just a financial loss for a lot of people. There is a huge loss in that person’s sense of purpose, which of course is something that through therapy we would work to help somebody with.
To what extent do you think just the sense of being cooped up is a big factor?
We know that in general, human beings are very social creatures. ... When you’re having a bad day, and you might normally be able to reach out and hug somebody and it makes you feel better, you don’t have that right now — or at least, not in the way that perhaps somebody once did.
So for some people that thrive off of that interaction or physical touch of another person, this can really exacerbate those feelings of loneliness and sadness.
What should people do if they’re really feeling out of sorts? Can you recommend any self-care tips?
Limit some of the news that you’re taking in. It’s hard to do at this time, because people want to be informed, but at the same time it can really lead to people feeling like things are perhaps much worse than they are.
And maintaining healthy eating and sleeping patterns is really important right now. Again, that’s hard to do ... but the more you can create that sense of normalcy for your body, the better you will feel.
I think it holds true with exercise as well. Just getting out walking or biking in my neighborhood ... although I don’t get that full human interaction, sometimes being able to wave hello, or a brief interaction with someone as you’re passing them on your bike, makes a little bit of a difference to brighten your day.
And then of course, taking advantage of the technology. ... We’re able to connect virtually in ways we never have been able to.
Also, reaching out to support somebody else. Which sounds kind of contradictory, because if I’m struggling, how am I going to reach out to help somebody else? But sometimes when you’re going out of your way to reach out to another person, you’re surprised at how uplifting that can be for yourself. And we’ve seen that a lot when people are being responsive to and supporting the health care workers and first responders, or even just checking in on a neighbor — things like that.
And I would always recommend reaching out to a professional... just to get that additional support.
Are there other coping mechanisms for people who maybe aren’t so isolated but might still be feeling stressed?
Some of the traditional things that we would do, especially for somebody who has anxiety, would be deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation.
And journaling is a great way to process what you’re thinking and feeling.
Can you speak a little bit about how SMA is adjusting to the new requirements of social distancing?
We have gone virtual through the use of tele-health in nearly all of our outpatient programs. We offer medication management through tele-health as well. For people who don’t have access to the technology, we at all of our sites have instituted the screenings that are recommended by the CDC.
We have made available tele-health on-demand through our Access Center and crisis response team. If someone is struggling, even if they’ve never been a client of SMA’s before, they can call our 1-800 number and be linked with a therapist. Even if it’s a one-time only, “I just need to get this off my chest because I’m not in a good place right now,” or something a little bit more long term. It’s 1-800-539-4228.
Do you imagine that this might change how mental health care is delivered going forward?
Yes, I would imagine so. For some people it’s a very convenient way of receiving the care that they get from us. So now that we’ve expanded it so much so quickly, we’ll be able to continue that for the people who want it. There are other people who really prefer that face-to-face interaction, so of course we’ll make sure that that is still available for them.
