Seven O’Clock: Mental Health Awareness Month in the Epicenter of COVID-19
Photograph by engin akyurt
Managing Women’s Health Issues and Mental Health in the Pandemic
As 7:00 rolls around, you begin to hear the cheers. Clapping, yelling, the clanking sound of wooden spoons hitting pans. From my window, I join in with the clapping, taking a look around at my neighbors whom have remained quiet all day until now. My hands come together but I can never seem to make my voice yell through my tears. Every single time, it feels as if the wind is knocked out of me, a lump forms in my throat and I am simply overcome. I clap, through my tears, hoping that the small vibrations I am able to create join the chorus of voices; a small measure of gratitude to the frontline.
If you are feeling anxious, panicked or scared about the future, I see you.
If you are feeling numb, stuck or hopeless because of overwhelming grief, I see you.
If you are grieving the many losses from this crisis, I see you.
I won’t sit here and tell you that therapy will be a magic fix to these things.
But I will tell you that it helps.
I have grappled with anxiety and depression my entire life. I have battled chronic pain for ten years. If you are struggling to maintain your mental health or physical health during this time, you are not alone in this. The crisis we are facing exacerbates feelings of panic, feelings of numbness and our bodies respond with an innate stress response. Cortisol levels are high, our bodies become inflamed and our pain levels increase.
My own therapy is what made me enter the profession. The tools I gained and continue to gain in session help me take my life a day at a time, an hour at a time. I don’t get it right everyday. Some days are better than others. But there is hope that what you are feeling and experiencing is temporary. It takes work, but it gets better.
Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity to reach out to the community and say this: You are seen. You are held. You matter. We are here to get through this together.