The Pandemic & Mental Health: GET THE HELP YOU NEED by Suzy Mesmer
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. During the month of May, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) joins the national movement to educate the public, fight stigma, advocate for policies and provide support to people with mental illness and their families.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
WHEN TO SEEK HELP
“In children, stress commonly manifests with struggles going to bed or staying asleep, increased crying spells or meltdowns, increased questions about death/ dying and increased separation anxiety (including school refusal),” Giarratana says. “Parents expressed feeling out of control, being short tempered with kids, feeling disconnected, feeling hopeless, increased feelings of inadequacy or guilt, engaging in things to numb or distract from the stress (alcohol, drugs, obsessive worry, change in eating and sleeping patterns, consumerism, doom scrolling, etc.)”
There is an abundance of research on how adverse childhood experiences impact our mental and emotional health in adulthood. If you’re struggling, Giarratana believes you may benefit from processing past experiences that continue to impact your present life. Additionally, look out for these signs:
In teens, she said, depression can manifest as irritability. “This can be tricky to tease out from typical adolescence, but is so important to pay attention to. When teens transitioned back to school in the fall (whether attending in-person or virtually), many teens expressed an increase in anxiety and panic at school. Unfortunately, a lot of times teens suffered these symptoms in silence and were unwilling to share their anxiety with their parents. Many teens who only had a history of experimenting with illicit drugs started to increase their use.” Families reported extra tensions in the household. Teens and parents clashed on COVID-19 boundaries and strain with extended family triggered childhood traumas. “The complexity of even a birthday to be celebrated spurred family and friend debates that bred division,” Giarratana says. “This lack of connection with ourselves and others coupled with political division sent us into deeper isolation – physically and emotionally.”
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TampaBayParenting.com MAY 2021
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Over the last year or so, we have endured radical changes from the global pandemic. As the messages increased that we were not able to live life as we once did, our bodies entered a fight or flight stress response. Worrying about losing our jobs, our health and our family’s well-being while also trying to care for our vulnerable loved ones and homeschool our cooped-up Lis a children sent many of us parents into a tailspin of emotional and parenting regressions. According to Lisa Giarratana, a Tampa-based Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), an EMDR-trained therapist, owner/director of Mosaic Wellness Collective and mom of three, many people are experiencing an uptick of symptoms congruent with anxiety and depression. Quite a few, she said, reported experiencing these symptoms for the first time during the pandemic.
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● Behavior patterns or changes such as sleep issues, impulsivity, unhealthy coping or any behavior that creates a barrier to health or relationships ● Thought patterns that are negative or hopeless (e.g. “I’m not good enough. I can’t do this anymore. Other people don’t care about me. I’m a failure. Things won’t get better.”) ● Substance abuse issues – many times it’s a close friend or loved one who notices it first ● Body image issues, including symptoms of an eating disorder or chronic dissatisfaction ● Relationship issues including involvement in abusive relationship patterns (controlling behaviors, verbal or physical abuse) ● Feeling sad or dissatisfied often, which in teens can look like isolation or lack of peer interest or involvement ● Experiencing significant life change or loss ● Frequent feelings of worry or anxiety that may include panic attacks, which are moments of feeling overwhelmed and short of breath Additionally, seek immediate help if there are any thoughts of harming yourself or someone else. “If your child expresses this in any way, always take them seriously and seek help,” Giarratana says. “It is important to send a message that we, as parents, are listening and will act. Even if it’s a false alarm, the risk of sending the message that we won’t take them seriously is far greater.”
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE, PLEASE SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY. SUICIDAL IDEATION CAN FEEL ISOLATING AND ALARMING, BUT THERE ARE PROFESSIONALS WHO CAN HELP YOU. THE NATIONAL SUICIDE HOTLINE AT 800-273-8255 AND 211 ARE BOTH RESOURCES YOU CAN ACCESS ANY TIME. ADDITIONALLY, YOU CAN GO TO YOUR NEAREST EMERGENCY ROOM AND THEY CAN ASSIST YOU.
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