How Covid-19 Ups The Everyday Stress

Covid-19 wrecked his business — and led him to further thoughts of impending doom.

A listener sent in a comment in to a radio show Thursday to share those thoughts — and prompted some practical advice about how we all can tackle the lesser-discussed threats the pandemic is posing to our sanity.

The call came to an episode of WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven” featuring U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Clifford Beers Clinic CEO Alice Forrester, and Yale Child Study Center’s Steve Marans.

The three spoke at length about the losses and fears plaguing the people they deal with every day. Will the disease hit them or their loved ones next? Will already-struck friends or relatives survive? Will they have enough to eat? Enough diapers for the baby? Can they deal with the the stress coming from living in cramped quarters and, say, sharing one iPhone or Chromebook among six people? Will they keep their jobs? Will they find new ones if not?

“People are worried,” Forrester said, ​“about being alone.”

The three offered prescriptions in addition to those descriptions. Including after hearing from the listener, Oliver Collins.

“My company which I built for 7 years is about to close down,” Collins wrote in on Facebook. ​“Wait for the economy to crash. Wait for the crime to skyrocket. Face masks are perfect for it. Add a little warm weather in May and BAM! It’s gonna get ugly!!!”

“Oliver is not alone,” Marans responded. ​“We are all vulnerable to the stress reaction Oliver is having…. We fill in with the worst-case scenarios.”

Also, Marans noted, Collins’s fears are based in reality. Bad stuff is indeed happening, and more probably will.

That doesn’t mean that every feared worst-case disaster will happen.

For instance, a predicted rise in domestic violence amid the pandemic has not at this point been reported in New Haven. It very well may happen. Marans’s clinic, the cops, Beers Clinic, and others are preparing for it and hoping to prevent it. These dire projections increase stress.

In the meantime, people can help each other both cope with the stress and pursue solutions.

Step one, according to Marans: ​“Turn the volume down.”

“Helping each other to put the brakes on — that’s an act of kindness,” Marans said.

For instance: Pursue relaxation techniques.

Sure, keep track of the news — but not every minute or hour or two hours. ​“Interrupt the cycle of frightening thoughts and anxiety.”

Urge each other to take breaks thinking about the pandemic.

DeLauro spoke of the way anxiety is disrupting people’s sleep. She quoted one man who wrote to her office about the threat of his business closing: ​“I go to bed. I wake up every two hours screaming. The next day I have to do it all over again.”

“Sleep hygiene” — getting to bed at a good hour, and at a consistent time each night — can help reduce that anxiety, Marans said.

Meanwhile, people need to work together, and government needs to help them, to address the health, mental health, employment, business losses, and other challenges created by the pandemic.

DeLauro appeared on the program right before rushing to Congress to speak out in favor of, and then vote for, a fourth round of stimulus help. She said government needs to do better to make sure emergency relief gets in the hands of people on the ground who actually need it, she said, and she vowed to help.

Click on the video below to watch the full episode of WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven,” in which U.S. Rep, Rosa DeLauro, Steve Marans, and Alice Forrester discuss the steps to address mental health and other collateral challenges from Covid-19. Following the video, find a list of mental-health resources provided by DeLauro’s office.

Emotional & Family Support

SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH): The Disaster Distress Helpline (800 – 985-5990) provides immediate crisis counseling and help to individuals nationwide who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of a natural or man-made disaster, or incidents of mass violence. The Helpline is available 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. The Helpline connects callers to professionals from the closest crisis counseling center in the nationwide network of centers. The Helpline staff will provide confidential counseling, referrals and other needed support services. Individuals can call or text ​‘TalkWithUs’ to 66746. Other Talklines: For a list of other talklines/helplines that are available to individuals needing support, click here.

Mobile Crisis Intervention for Youth (MCI): MCI services for youth delivers a range of crisis response services to children and adults. MCI clinicians have mostly stopped going out and doing mobile visits with youth due to COVID-19. However, they are still available for telephonic intervention and support. To access MCI services for youth, dial 2 – 1‑1 anytime of day to be connected. For a list of the MCI programs that serve both adults and youth, view it here on 211ct.org.

AARP Community Connections: Feeling socially isolated? Older adults can request a phone call from an AARP volunteer, Monday – Friday, 9AM to 5PM EDT by leaving their information at 1 – 888-281‑0145 or submitting a request online here. Community Connections also has a website for older adults to connect with a mutual aid group in their community. Mutual aid groups are informal groups of volunteers that band together to find effective ways to support those people most in need who live in their local community. Mutual aid can include picking up groceries, providing financial assistance, or lending emotional support to neighbors. Visit https://aarpcommunityconnections.org/ to search for a group in your area.

Stay Connected – Phone or online support: The CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) has a guide of telephonic and online ways for individuals to get support and stay connected. The one-page guide is available here.