Individual Counseling Treats The Parallel Pandemic Of Mental Health

Individual counseling is available at Take Charge, Inc. to help you manage mental health issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization says that COVID has created what they call a parallel pandemic of mental health problems. The coronavirus crisis and the resulting economic recession have impacted many people’s mental health for the worse and created new roadblocks for those already suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders.

The Parallel Pandemic

A new survey found that US adults have the highest stress levels since April. 84% reported feeling at least one emotion associated with prolonged stress like anxiety, sadness, and anger. Another poll from July 2020 also found that many adults are reporting specific negative impacts on their mental health and well-being, such as difficulty eating or sleeping, increased alcohol consumption or substance use, and worsening chronic conditions, due to stress and worry brought on by the coronavirus.

About one in five US citizens suffered from some sort of mental illness before the pandemic. That figure is currently two in five. Disruption to mental health services has occurred across the globe. In some places like the US, however, expanding telehealth services has closed some of the gap.

Lasting and Widespread Impact

The mental health effects of COVID-19 will be felt long after the physical illness is tamped down by vaccines. Increased anxiety and depression, early retirements of burnt-out health professionals, and the ongoing effects for low-wage workers traumatized by working in high-risk positions at grocery stores, food processing plants, and other essential businesses will all continue to be major issues for many years to come.

While the most severe physical impacts of COVID-19 have been felt by the elderly, many of its worst mental health effects are being experienced by children who are missing educational opportunities and isolated from friends, and young adults struggling with lost jobs and reduced wages on top of child-care and elder-care responsibilities.

Do I Need Individual Counseling?

Many of us may not even be fully conscious of how deeply we have been affected by the past year. People have been in survival mode for a long time and with the weight of the pandemic, it has triggered unaddressed trauma and symptoms.  It is important to self-assess your mental health and seek individual counseling to manage it. Think about the past two weeks to a month and ask yourself how your mood has been. Have you felt lower than usual? Are you experiencing more anxiety? Having trouble sleeping? Are you feeling hopeless and pessimistic or feeling that life is not worth living? These are symptoms of depression, and individual counseling is the best way to deal with them.

If you or a loved one is struggling, individual counseling at Take Charge, Inc. can help manage pandemic stress by talking it out and teaching you healthy coping skills. For more information, click here or call (913) 239-8255.