SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton: Each New Coronavirus Surge Heightens Mental Health Concerns

Press release from SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton:

January 6, 2022

As we approach the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, a shocking number of Americans are seeking help and treatment for mental health. SSM Health Regional Vice President of Behavioral Health Michelle Schafer said exhaustion, burnout, anxiety and depression among individuals is skyrocketing.

“Everyone is exhausted,” Schafer said. “Everybody has been in various states of stress response now for nearly two years. People are frustrated and upset; they want to get back to their defined state of normalcy.”

As case numbers briefly dropped with vaccines over the last year, Schafer said individuals were given a sense of relief that the pandemic could be nearing an end. However, the latest surge of the Omicron variant has brought about a new wave of mental health concerns – as many worry that the end to the pandemic could still be far off.

“They’re running out of resilience and resources to rely on,” Schafer said. “Many are seeking help for depression, substance abuse disorders, suicidal thoughts. The number of suicide attempts are significantly up in children and adolescents.”

With the new, more transmissible Omicron variant, many are consumed with the concern of getting sick, or possibly getting a loved one sick. Many find it hard to live life normally when we’re constantly hearing about surging case numbers and deaths.

With children, Schafer said a large portion of their emotional development is related to their interactions with other kids, most commonly in school settings with peer groups. Virtual learning and social distancing have kept many children from getting the interaction and resources they need. In the last year, Schafer said an astronomical number of children have struggled with mental health.

“In many school systems there’s typically a lot of services that help kids that have behavioral and mental health issues and they don’t currently have the same access for that,” Schafer said. “Because of this, we’re seeing a larger number of children in our offices who were already struggling, as well as children with new diagnoses.”

Schafer said one of the toughest concepts to grasp is how long this state of uncertainty will last. Considering most people have never lived through a pandemic, the long-term effects it can have on mental health are still unknown.

“The crisis in behavioral health, mental health, substance abuse disorder is here. It’s not coming, it’s here,” Schafer said. “What we don’t know is how long this tidal wave will last.”

While many factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic are out of our control, Schafer said there are ways to reduce feelings of anxiety and depression:

• Get outside –even if it’s for 15 minutes per day –bundle up, breathe some fresh air and get some sunshine
• Exercise, or move your body for at least 20 minutes per day
• Start journaling to acknowledge your emotions and frustrations
• Reach out and purposefully connect with family and friends over face-time or the phone—be creative

Schafer said self-care is more important now than ever before. If you feel ”stuck” for more than several days to a couple weeks and feel like you can’t get out of a funk, Schafer recommends talking to a health professional.

“We’re doing things so much differently and so much more non-traditionally than we did before, so there’s an opportunity to get help from telehealth through video calls,” Schafer said.

If you’re struggling, it’s important to remember that there is hope and there is help. Schafer explains one of the silver linings that has come out of the pandemic is that people are finally talking more about mental health and ending the stigma the topic once had.

If you have thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress.

We have more information regarding behavioral health services at SSM Health on our website.

This press release was produced by SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.