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Surviving instead of thriving

Register-Guard - 5/25/2020

Living in a pandemic shines a new light on Mental Health Awareness Month -- more consideration and action have been directed toward accessing and offering affordable care, with hopes of changes positively shaping the future.

With existing mental healthcare systems stressed and more individuals introduced to feelings of stress, despair and uncertainty, mental health advocates and providers muse a wider-felt empathy for emotional well-being this month.

"Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recognizes there are currently 57.8 million Americans living with mental and/or substance use disorders," said Elinore McCance-Katz, the head of SAMHSA, in a news release.

The organization anticipates that the COVID-19 crisis will contribute to an increase in the number of Americans dealing with mental health struggles such as depression, anxiety, trauma and grief.

"At the beginning of this, I saw an increase in people looking for services," said Prairie Conlon, a licensed mental health professional and clinical director at ThriveTalk. Conlon primarily works with clients experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder through ThriveTalk, a telehealth and therapy company established long before the pandemic.

This boom of new clients reflected a realization that the pandemic would touch everyone emotionally in some way, Conlon said. But when those resources are most needed, they seem least available, she said. Emotional distress is likely just one aspect of the pandemic-related symptoms, ranging from financial insecurity to threatened physical safety, people are experiencing. The symptoms create an ever-rising barrier from help that can already be hard to get.

"Then we got a little further into the pandemic and obviously finances were being impacted. There was a severe drop off (in people seeking help)," Conlon said.

People are significantly less likely to spend money on their mental health when they aren't able to meet their basic needs, like having food to eat or a safe place to sleep, according to Conlon. Surviving will take priority over thriving.

In an effort to help people access normally affordable counseling, ThriveTalk announced free sessions for essential health care workers and first responders. For all other clients, sessions have been discounted.

Similarly, there has been a substantial increase in use of free resources such as crisis lines and support groups.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration saw a fivefold increase at its National Helpline between the beginning and end of March, according to a NPR story by Yuki Noguchi. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line said at the beginning of May that its volumes are up 40% in the pandemic, to about 100,000 conversations a month.

National Alliance for Mental Illness Oregon has seen an increase in participation across the board since its services moved to a virtual platform, according to Jennifer MacLean, the executive director of NAMI Lane County.

While economic impacts of the pandemic vary from person to person, COVID-19 has tested most people's basic security. Generally, heightened anxiety for prolonged period can exacerbate pre-existing problems or result in entirely new behaviors in response to experiencing trauma, according to Conlon.

"I know from my personal experience that this has been difficult, because a lot of managing my illnesses was having routine and knowing my triggers -- like, what I could expect," said MacLean, who struggles with manic-depression, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. "Routine is so important to everybody, especially those who might be living with a mental illness, because it really can bring some structure.

"I think the instability can really affect the road to recovery, because we're all feeling very anxious about the unknown."

NAMI provides peer-led mental health services as well as help connecting people with community resources like food, shelter and other essential needs.

"We always say your mental health and your physical health are so connected," MacLean said.

Through the pandemic, MacLean said more people may be experiencing mental health troubles. However, now more than ever, more people might be able to more easily empathize with those regularly facing by mental health challenges, such as generalized anxiety or regular isolation.

The shared experience of living through a pandemic changes the social fabric in which mental illness and associated behaviors are perceived. Coping mechanisms emerging from the stress of living through the isolation of the stay-at-home order might become routine even when the disaster ends. For example, people may become more vigilant about hand washing to the extent that previously may have been perceived as a behavior associated with obsessive compulsive disorder, according to Conlon.

Only time will tell how the change in perception of mental illness will impact our cultural and social interworkings, but for now, the awareness of mental health as a legitimate part of well-being might serve us.

"Through this pandemic maybe some light will be sort of shone on those places -- unfortunately, this does affect our most vulnerable communities at a higher rate," MacLean said. "But I think that we could get some good health care, mental healthcare awareness and possibly initiatives through our local government in really realizing how important this is."

Contact reporter Dana Sparks at dsparks@registerguard.com or 541-338-2243, and follow her on Twitter @danamsparks and Instagram @danasparksphoto. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.

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