A pandemic and trauma: Helping those who are helping others
The story of the New York City ER doctor who died by suicide has highlighted the stress frontline healthcare workers are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr.Lorna Breen did not have a history of mental illness, according to her father, but after caring for patients and contracting the disease herself only to return to caring for patients, it all became too much.
Mental health and wellbeing: Knowing when to help a loved one
The fear of the unknown. It’s a phrase we’ve all used, but during today’s COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a term that has adopted real meaning as none of us can be sure what the future holds.
We are living a true day-by-day existence, which runs counter to the human instinct to anticipate and plan.
COVID-19 stress: It’s Ok to ask for help
COVID-19 will forever be remembered for quarantining, working from home and generally isolating from the world.
Today, many of us sit in our homes, at our computers, with children to be educated, pets to be soothed and chaos to be tolerated.
Let’s talk about how we feel
For decades, mental health has been a taboo topic.
We can talk about a family member’s cancer, for example, but not about the depression that keeps a loved one from going to work or the anxiety that makes it difficult for that person to leave the house.
COVID-19 isolation: You’re not alone
For most people, the term “social distance” is contradictory to the very nature of who we are: social animals whose very existence relies on interacting with others, whether through families, workplaces, neighborhoods, nations and beyond.
So when we’ve been asked to “social distance” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us may feel alone – physically, psychologically, and of course, socially.
COVID-19 and housing for people experiencing homelessness: Today’s innovations, tomorrow’s solutions
To meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness as well as to help curtail COVID-19’s trajectory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that those individuals with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases live in housing that isolates them from others.
It’s a common-sense recommendation as the number one call to action to control this pandemic is social distancing – living and working apart from one another as much as possible.
Seven steps to maintaining resilience during COVID-19 stress
Resilience is important to good mental health and wellbeing.
It helps us to overcome adversity in general and, more specifically, mental health challenges, including substance use disorders. All of us, at some point in our lives, need to tap into resiliency to overcome one obstacle or another.
Healthcare workers: You have the power to manage COVID-19
The anxiety and fear resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic can be profound, and nowhere is that more evident than with frontline healthcare workers.
Working long hours in substandard conditions with patients who are often very ill and highly contagious, they fear for their personal health and that of their families.
Coronavirus anxiety: Identify, address and ease it
Catastrophes, including public health emergencies such as COVID-19, affect mental health, both at the individual and population levels.
Indeed, people experience a wide range of mental health issues during and long after emergencies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Supporting employees at work and beyond
The new year brings excellent news for Beacon Health Options (Beacon).
Mental Health America (MHA) has awarded Beacon its platinum certification for The Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health, MHA’s new national employer certification program.