Managing mental health during COVID-19

Written by Allison Brown

We sat down for a Q and A with UAB’s Director of Student Counseling, Dr. Angela

Stowe, to get real about the struggle of mental health during COVID-19. What is it about this time that is affecting our mental health? What is a normal response to all of this stress?

“We certainly can’t put it down as to one or “I think the normal response is that there even two things. We’ve never been through is no normal response. So pretty much a pandemic like this before. We are all anything somebody might be doing, feeling, living through unprecedented times. Lots of experiencing the ways that you might behave uncertainty, no kind of idea of when we might being would be an expected response to such be through it. We’ll get through it. We know an unexpected kind of time. People might that, but we just don’t know when be sleeping too much, not sleeping enough, So, we’re all having to do things differently. I definitely would imagine you know, isolation, it’s just so hard to connect or inability to kind of do the things that we’re used to do doing is weigh in on people. The chronic nature, kind of just the prolonged nature of the stress is definitely increasing over time. eating too much, not eating enough, changes in the level of how you feel like interacting with people. Feeling emotions, super, super strong, or maybe feeling apathy and not feeling them. I think people might feel physical symptoms, heart might be racing. You might notice that you’re fatigued more than usual. Financial stress is a huge, huge piece of a lot of our students. I know. And not just students, just people are experiencing a lot of financial stress whether it’s changes in jobs or just the economy, we know all of the events that have been happening over the past few months related to police brutality and race and racism that is definitely added stress to I think people’s behaviors may be a sense of kind of agitation or always on edge could happen as well. Fear anxiety, a lot of grief. It would be a normal reaction because there’s just so many losses of how we do things and even major life events and a lot of loss with COVID as well, maybe just true death that people have experienced. Photo of Dr. Angela Stowe, courtesy of Dr. Stowe many, many people. So, loss has happened in a lot of different The upcoming election is definitely a piece of it as well. It’s a very emotionally charged time. ways loss of what your college experience is supposed to be like right now. It’s totally different than how you had imagined it. I’m sure. Those things, that folks may have had a year And that’s a loss as well. And so, a lot of grief ago that helped you cope and do things, but a big frustration, anger, exhaustion, all those now it’s a lot harder. It’s just a lot harder to do things I think are pretty normal and common anything, you know? So, a lot of things I think reactions. are going on that are affecting folks right now. And it’s all under the big umbrella of COVID.” I also don’t want to forget if you’re feeling good, that’s a common reaction right now too.”

Some people are liking things right now because it’s not as busy and it’s not as hectic. Some stressors have been removed. They’re getting to spend time with family that they like to spend time with. We also have folks that are spending time with family and that’s extremely stressful for folks. People are talking about how they’ve enjoyed learning new things or getting to be creative or just having some time to reflect that they aren’t used to having. So, truly all over the board is what people are going through and all of those things can be one person could be going through that too. We can be happy and frustrated; we can be lonely and connected and all those things.”

What do you think are signs of more than just some situational anxiety and depression? When does it maybe start to become something a little bit more?

“I think definitely behaviors like any of those daily activities that you know, that you’re seeing a change. So are you noticing your sleep is different? Your appetite is different, your exercise is different? Your desire to be around people and withdrawing is different Any of those types of things, energy level concentration, just any change more or less could be like, “Oh, what’s going on? This is different. I might need to pay attention to this.” I definitely think signs are when they’re experiencing symptoms that are impacting their ability to do the things they need to do. So, if it’s impacting your ability to participate in class, to study, to go to work, to engage with responsibilities at home, or whether that’s just taken care of where you live, or you’ve got other responsibilities with family members

and it’s getting in the way that you being able to do that, that’s definitely a time to pay attention as well.”

What are some simple coping strategies that can especially help in this time of uncertainty?

“Well, there’s a few that I have been just real strong about encouraging people to consider. The biggest one is that self-care is not for after five and weekends. It’s not for after class. When you’re in the week, it is got to be embedded in your every day as part of your life. We just have to focus on that right now. Things that really are key with self-care is one, if you can have a routine and work in breaks and boundaries and they there, so give yourself some time off, give yourself some time to log off, you know, take a break. A general rhythm to your day definitely reduces stress. If everything is different every day, your body is in chaos, but a routine can help manage that. The second is being kind to yourself and others. Practicing self-compassion is so important.

I think folks have a tendency to be really hard on themselves and you know, not getting it right or not doing it the way they think they should and thinking they should be able to do what they did before. COVID in the same way. And you just can’t. There’s some great resources by Kristin Neff, she has a Ted talk too, if you wanted to look at it. She teaches some strategies for selfcompassion, and then compassion for others, you’re compassionate towards yourself. You’re more likely to be compassionate to others, but we just need more calmness in the world right now for sure. The third thing would

be to watch those daily activities: your sleeping, your eating and your movement. Are you sleeping enough to fuel your body? Are you eating what you need to eat to fuel your body and your brain? And are you moving enough so that you’re keeping your body in motion? Then, the last thing is, do something fun. Do something to keep you excited to kind of feed your soul, whatever that might be. Sometimes that’s connecting with people in ways that are meaningful, learning something new or serving others. Anything that just kind of is outside of that day-to-day responsibility that makes you smile. It kind of gives you a little bit of light. Those are the things that I would say if you could focus on with self-care and retain compassion for yourself and others, those daily activities of eating, sleeping and movement, and then doing something fun makes you smile.”

Have you seen an increase in the number of students like seeking out counseling?

We have, and that was something that we’re actually really happy to see. We feel like that means we’ve gotten the word out that we want students to come and that they’re doing that. And we hope that means there’s a decrease in stigma as well, but we have seen an increase this year compared to last year. For the first three weeks of class, it was about a 30% increase from last year. There’s a pretty big number.

What would you say to someone who is maybe a little apprehensive or thinking about doing counseling, but wasn’t sure? Is there any like kind of message you would want to relay to them?

Well, I certainly would encourage them to give it a try and to reach out. If there are any questions you have feel free to ask those and be an informed consumer. But give it a try and to reach out for help. We try to make it really easy. Students can schedule that first appointment online. They don’t even have to

call somebody, cause sometimes folks are nervous to make a call. You can go to our website and connect to your patient portal and just schedule that first appointment online. We try to make it simple and then a counselor will call you for that appointment and start the process with you. We are doing all distanced counseling appointments, but we do have some other online support, especially while students are doing so much remotely. We have an app called Tao and it has a number of self-help resources for things like managing stress, like relationships, anxiety has mindfulness resources. So, a whole lot of things that people can do on their own time for self-help. We’ve got some screeners, we’ve got a resiliency hub that has access to some of the other things that we do. So, just know that there are other online resources, we have a page that has a ton of different apps. Students who might want to look at some ways to help their breathing or ways to kind of have a gratitude journal or something like that.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF UAB STUDENT COUNSELING Click “view resource” below to be taken to take page on their website

Laura Casey runs for Public Services Commission

Laura Casey gained headlines for her fight with the Public Services Commission after they ejected her from a hearing in 2019. Now she is running to chair that very commission and push for change from the inside. The commission she is running for, the Public Services Commission, is not as glamorous a position as governor or attorney general. It is not even one that many people are aware exists, but it serves an important role that affects almost every Alabamian. The PSC is the part of Alabama’s government tasked with regulating utilities. Daniel Tait, the chief operating officer of Energy Alabama, nonprofit advocating for renewable energy, said the role of the Commission as a body “meant to kind of act as the regulator on companies that have effective monopolies or sometimes close to monopolies.” In Alabama, that describes companies like Alabama Power, which is the only choice many Alabamians have for electricity. The commission is the group responsible for setting the rates that those utilities can charge. And the three commissioners who serve play a big part in deciding how much power bills will cost in the state.

The fight for the commission extends beyond just one election for Casey. Casey entered the news in 2019 when she was one of three women ejected from a meeting of the Public Services Commission, or PSC, for attempting to live stream a meeting concerning a proposed increase in service fees on solar panels by Alabama Power. That ejection turned into a larger fight with the PSC. Casey sued the commission alleging that by stopping the livestreaming of the hearing, that they were in violation of Alabama’s open meeting laws. That suit went all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court where they handed down a decision against Casey and for the PSC. Their reasoning was the hearing did not qualify as a meeting because the commissioners did not speak during it. Casey takes issue with this form of governing. “A PSC with Laura Casey at the helm will be a PSC that opens its doors,” Casey said. “Transparency is so long overdue that it is not even in the rearview mirror anymore.” Among Casey’s top priorities if elected, is holding a public rate case for base energy rates. A rate case is a public hearing that would determine the base rates that utilities can charge. Alabama has not held one in years, after a move to a formula to determine rates in the 1980s. For critics of the PSC like Laura Casey, they see a rate case as a first step to lowering Alabama’s nation-leading energy bills. “Transparency is so long overdue that it is not even in the rearview mirror anymore.” -Laura Casey

“Public rate cases are meant to be held every two to three years, it’s an opportunity to open the utilities book, up expenses and make sure rates are fair. Alabama did away with that 40 years ago,” Casey said. When Laura Casey moved from New Jersey to Alabama five years ago, it was a bit of a culture shock. Casey, a retired attorney, followed her husband after he took a job in Birmingham. This move coupled with the historic 2016 election and changed how Casey viewed the world. “So all of a sudden, my mission as soon as we moved here was to understand what was going on to understand what people were upset about (and) what they were thinking,” Casey said. Casey took that newfound desire for action and channeled that into politics. In 2018, Casey was one of many first-time candidates seeking office in what has been dubbed a “blue wave” when she ran in Alabama Senate District 15. As the sole candidate running for the Democrats, Casey advanced to the general election but was caught by a technicality. To be elected state senator, you must have lived in the state for three consecutive years. She was a few months short. Casey’s opponent, Twinkle Cavanaugh, is a favorite in the race. She is a two-term incumbent with sizable advantage in campaign dollars and a higher name recognition thanks to previous campaigns for this seat and lieutenant governor. But even if she loses this election on November 3rd, Laura Casey is not done with the PSC. “Once the elections over, it’s coming up with a full-time vehicle to educate, inform and advocate for people,” she said.

City Lifestyle