Collectively Supporting Mental Health and Wellness During COVID-19 — Academica Forum
Mental Health and Wellness has been a topic of discussion for many years. Bell is known for their program to support people opening up discussions about mental health challenges.
We are seeing a new wave of mental health issues with the on-set of COVID-19. Isolation for so many is taking it’s toll. We have a strong need to be present physically with each other. So many of our seniors, especially if they live alone, are experiencing extreme loneliness. Young people are in the stage of development where it is important to learn from socializing with other students, teachers and healthy adults. Now they are confined to their homes or rooms with a screen for interaction.
At the beginning of the pandemic I was required to be on zoom calls for 8 hours a day. At the end of the day I wanted to scream. My body ached from sitting and my eyes burned. Sitting for hours on end in front of a screen does not allow for good emotional, mental or physical health.
There is no doubt that colleges and businesses will need to improve their understanding and responses to mental wellness. Those little check ins, kind words, letting go of ‘perfect’ that Joe Henry mentions are all very important. My question is “who is caring for the caregiver?” – those teachers or leaders that are themselves put under such immense pressure that they have nothing further to give to the others in need. How do we protect their (our) mental health?
I realize that I need to take responsibility for my own mental health as a leader and I make sure to connect to my massage therapist, counsellor and coach, along with staying connected to friends. But I have to admit that some days I just want an employee/student to get it that I also have very little to give due to the increased demands on my time and emotions. I am watching not only staff/students feel overwhelmed but also leaders in many of our partner organizations. One thing I am trying to do is to remind myself that in every interaction that I have, the other person is in some way feeling the stress of this pandemic.
Joe Henry summarizes, “This collective experience of the pandemic has shifted many perspectives on what it means to be a community on campus” I believe that we may not even realize how important this shift will be in the days to come.
Henry, Joe. (2020, October 14). Collectively Supporting Mental Health and Wellness. Academica
Forum. https://forum.academica.ca/forum/collectively-supporting-mental-health-and-wellness-
during-COVID-19