Faith on the Frontlines

Brianna Bowen has spent much of the last year providing vital care to COVID-19 patients as a respiratory therapist in Hattiesburg, MS.

She is among frontline medical workers who, at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, witnessed gruesome deaths on a regular basis.

Bowen experienced anxiety and burnout like many other frontline workers during the pandemic. She juggled the increasing workload and decreasing medical staff. “It was so much work. It made you anxious that you’re not spending enough time on a patient to give them the care they need,” says Bowen.

Bowen credits her faith and the support of her loving husband for helping her cope. She attends the South Laurel Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Laurel, MS.

“What healthcare workers are experiencing is akin to domestic combat,” Andrew J. Smith, Ph.D., director of the University of Utah Health Occupational Trauma Program at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, said in a press release from his institution.

According to a study conducted by Smith’s group, more than half of the doctors, nurses, and emergency responders providing COVID-19 care could be at risk for one or more mental health problems, including acute traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety.

American psychological and psychiatric associations, while not advocating or endorsing any specific religion, acknowledge a role for spirituality and religious faith in coping with distress and trauma.

For Bowen, such support and community helped her through her struggles working with COVID-19 patients. “It was the number of bad patients in the day that you had to handle. We were so short-staffed it was overwhelming.”

During that time, Bowen listened to uplifting religious songs on the JW Library app during her commute, read a portion of the Bible, and said a prayer each morning before starting her workday. “This helped me to be positive and pull through each day,” says Bowen.

She also joined virtual ministry groups, wrote letters with positive Bible messages to her neighbors, and continued her regular schedule of meeting twice a week with her local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses online. All of this helped her to stay positive while being immersed in so much sadness.

If you’re interested in getting more information on gaining comfort through the scriptures, visit https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/peace-happiness/real-hope-future-bible-promises/.