Mental Health in the Age of COVID-19
My alarm clock goes off at 6 am…
I quietly get out of bed and shuffle down the hall trying NOT to wake anyone up. Grabbing my morning caffeine, I settle into my makeshift desk in the corner of my basement. Three hours pass and my kids wake up, arguing begins over who gets the last bowl of Fruit Loops, reminding me - a not so subtle reminder - that it’s been a week… maybe two… since I went grocery shopping. Two ZOOM calls later, I’m wondering if I should take a break to put on some jeans. I walk upstairs just in time to yell at my son to stop putting mud in his sister’s hair and remind them they should be reading or writing something.
Am I alone in this, or does this sound like a typical weekday morning for families during the COVID-19 pandemic? Our “new normal” is definitely NOT NORMAL. I frequently find myself checking in for a late-night ZOOM call, or answering work emails at 2 am. Two months into this, days and times have very little meaning. My boundaries between work-life and home-life have become a little murky. Something needs to change.
May is National Mental Health Month and in the midst of COVID-19, it’s the perfect time to talk about Mental Health, an often-neglected topic. In an effort to find ideas as to what can help me, I reached out to Bobbi Reasch, one of the Family Support Center’s therapists, and specifically asked what families can do to help their mental health during this trying time.
Bobbi’s tips for families during COVID-19:
Find something to look forward to. Put something on your family’s schedule that you can all look forward to. This could be something as simple as Friday night waffles or tents in the living room for a movie and popcorn!
Don’t forget to make social connections. Remember that it is important for kids and adults to make and maintain social connections. Help kids maintain contact with their friends while continuing to maintain social distancing.
Get enough sleep. Maintain a good sleep/wake cycle. Trauma (earthquakes, COVID-19, homeschooling, unemployment, social isolation, etc.,) can cause fatigue, so it’s important to get good rest.
Hard things are happening all around us, but if you stop and look there are also a LOT of good things.
For example, I finally had the time to teach my daughter how to ride her bike and to sit with my son as he explained the best technique for making mud. The sun is shining, flowers blooming, and life keeps going- get out and live it!
-Bobbi Lord M.P.A, Family Support Center’s Director of Development
