A Mental Health Pandemic Waits in the Wings.

A Mental Health Pandemic Waits in the Wings.

By Ed Kociela

I don’t care how big and bad you claim to be, how together you say your head is, how bright you may be, this COVID-19 thing has got to be getting to you to some degree or another. It is why we have a mental health pandemic waiting in the wings.

Getting through life is tough enough on its own. In normal times there is enough failure, sadness, loss, and uncertainty to shake even the most stable minds.

Throw in months upon months of quarantine and isolation, a vicious, stubborn disease, and our own personal economic disasters and you can see why when this is all over, whenever that might be, we are going to be in great need of therapy to get back to what we once considered normal.

Even during the best of times, we lose jobs, income, family, and friends. The struggle is very real as we do our best to do what’s right and best for ourselves and our families. It isn’t all peaches and cream by a longshot.

Throw in a killer disease and everything gets turned upside down.

And, oh, yeah, we also happen to be in the midst of the nastiest, dirtiest presidential campaign ever with an incumbent whose ignorance and lack of leadership is wholly surpassed by a lack of dignity and respect, a nation where racism simmers in the background until the next time a person of color is killed and we swear it will not happen again, and foreign and domestic threats that have us on rocky ground.

I’m not about to jump out onto that ledge with those insisting we are in the end times. I’m not privy to God’s playbook and neither are they. I’m also not going to shrug it all off with those in denial who tell us that someday we will all wake up and it will be gone. As much as I hope and pray that would happen, I don’t see it coming. So we’re just going to have to settle in, do the best we can to protect ourselves and others, and hope that sooner rather than later science bails us out.

But, even suggesting that opens the door to more anger and politicization.

I mean simply reminding people that it is in not only their best interest to wear a mask, but it can protect others as well will provoke many of you to respond with “The damn government isn’t going to make ME wear a mask!” Of course, from our president on down, we have plenty of candidates for this year’s Darwin Awards. That attitude only lengthens the list, so step in at the end of that line, please, and see you on the flipside.

Meanwhile, all of that gives us pretty good reason to be on the edge of bat-shit crazy.

The numbers certainly point in that direction.

A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll conducted in mid-July revealed that 53 percent of adults in the United States reported that their mental health had been negatively impacted as a result of worry and stress associated with COVID-19. That is an increase from the 32 percent who reported the same feeling in March when we started lockdowns, serious social distancing, mask requirements, and shutdowns.

Americans are not sleeping well, using more drugs and alcohol to cope, and finding that chronic ailments are showing significant signs of increasing symptoms.

Increases in depression, anxiety, distress, and low self-esteem have been shirt-tailed to COVID-19 as people worry about their jobs, health, and welfare. That also drives suicide numbers higher.

The nation tried to force its way back to mental stability with premature openings of businesses, schools, and social gatherings, only to find that in each instance, incidents of the disease increased again.

Women seem to be much more susceptible to the impact of isolation than men, and adolescents who, because of school closures had less access to mental health services, meal programs, and physical and social health services also have seen an increase in mental health issues.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a plan in place to help frontline health workers who have been stretched beyond their limits to treat patients. The pandemic and shortages of equipment, uncertainty about treatment protocols, and an overwhelming number of patients have taken a toll, a toll that mental health experts say will take a good three years for a full recovery for these health heroes. While it is good and noble and righteous to care for others, particularly in times like these, it is also equally important for these people to take care of themselves. Otherwise, they become victims, too.

We can complain about a lack of leadership all we want, but that does little to resolve the issues. Go ahead and point fingers if it makes you happy. We all know who to point them at. But, wouldn’t it be better to do something more effective, more productive, like reaching out to family and friends and ensuring that you chat with them on the telephone, through video calls, e-mails, or however else you communicate? Take steps to improve your own stability – mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually – with a regime that takes you away from the daily battleground of ignorance that has flooded our social media since this disease was discovered. Do you worry about the media and fake news? Tell you what, the real fake news is that crap you see all over Facebook claiming conspiracies and treason and political motivation. So please don’t trash information forwarded by legitimate health officials and scientists and rely on what the idiot boy who failed biology three times posts on Facebook. Trust science. It brought us to where we are today. Look at that computer in front of you, the phone in your hand, the tablet you’re playing games on. If that isn’t enough, look at how many people are surviving what were once death-sentence ailments like heart disease, cancer, and so many others. Science did that and science will find a way for us to overcome COVID-19. No, I don’t like doctors or hospitals or any of that stuff because it usually means something scary is going on. But, there are a couple of guys in St. George that I was pretty happy to have on my side when I needed them the most. They are healers and I could never repay them for all they did for me. So yeah, trust science.

I agree that times are tough right now.

It sucks being penned in.

Wearing a mask is a chore.

Isolation is a bitch.

But, it is what we need to deal with to get through this. Now is no time to be rebellious, now is the time to bring it under control and think of not only ourselves but others.

Don’t gather in large numbers.

Don’t incite others to behave badly.

Don’t complain about every little thing. It’s difficult or all of us and you are no better or worse than the others. Dwelling on how difficult these times are, only makes them that much more difficult.

Reach out. Call that old friend you haven’t spoken to in years. Drop a note to that former teacher and let them know how much they meant to you and how they changed your lie.

Enjoy the company of your family. You never know how much time is left to enjoy them.

Read a book, binge watch “Seinfeld” or “Friends” or “Desperate Housewives,” write that novel, learn to play that guitar that has sat in the corner for years.

And, wear the damn mask.

It could go a long way to keeping your head in the right space.

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