Mental health remains a concern amidst COVID-19, study shows
7th December 2020 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a mental health toll on local residents, as a recent survey of 3,000 adults found that two in three Louisianans say they have suffered from “quiet stress” this year.
American Addiction Centers, a provider of substance addiction treatment resources, conducted the survey. While commonly known stress symptoms include shouting, swearing, and visible anger, “quiet stress” causes people to underreact. These people will not speak up about how they feel. They will often feel overwhelmed and in a state of inertia, unable to act in situations requiring change.
Nearly half of the survey respondents (48 percent) said they hide their feelings because they don’t want to worry their friends or family. Twenty-three percent said they hide their feelings because they fear being seen as weak.
The isolation caused by the pandemic ranked as a high stress trigger for many survey respondents. Twenty-eight percent said the most stressful thing about 2020 was the social distancing and loneliness. Twenty-three percent said personal finance issues stressed them out the most. Nineteen percent of respondents said they were more likely to turn to alcohol now to alleviate stress than they were in 2019.
Self-medication through alcohol or drugs is always a potential issue during stressful times. The Journal of the American Medical Association released a study on September 29 indicating many Americans increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic. The journal surveyed adults ages 30-59 and indicated a 19 percent increase in alcohol consumption compared to 2019. There was a significant increase (41 percent) in heavy drinking for women (four or more drinks within a couple of hours).
The study authors acknowledged the numbers may be flawed due to self-reporting. People completing such a study may lie about how much they drink, usually understating the number because they’re afraid of being judged for it.
Unemployment or underemployment due to the pandemic also creates or exacerbates stress, especially in a city like New Orleans that depends so heavily on the hotel/restaurant/tourism industry. Kyle Bruns, a bartender at Marcello’s in the CBD, has been out of work since March. He said the seemingly endless free time caused by both unemployment and a lack of other activities open in the city has been his biggest stressor.
“It’s the boredom,” Bruns said. “I’m just trying to find things to fill the day without falling into a social media black hole.”
Bruns said bartenders are used to being surrounded by people on a regular basis and the transition from that lifestyle to one consisting mostly of solitude (Bruns lives alone) was a difficult one.
“You’re surrounded by dozens, sometimes hundreds of people in a day and suddenly it’s just you,” Bruns said. “You don’t get to vent. You don’t get to talk.”
To cope with this stress, Bruns said he rides his bike almost every day. He has also bought and read a lot of used fantasy/sci-fi books as a form of escape. He said he sees some friends, but only those he knows are taking the pandemic seriously.
Unemployment woes have not been limited to hospitality and tourism. Local resident Mike Kabel was laid off from his job with an internet service provider in October. His company supplied internet services to multi-tenant office buildings, but business dropped off considerably once more people began working from home.
Like Bruns, Kabel said the most stressful part of 2020 has been the isolation. However, he said a previous two-year spell of underemployment during the Great Recession taught him important lessons that he has used to aid his mental health during COVID-19. He learned how easy it is to fall into a rut of staying home and not doing anything if you don’t have a job to go to in the morning. That is the path to depression.
“When you let yourself get in that place, it’s really hard to get out of that place,” Kabel said.
Kabel said he pays attention to his daily behaviors. He’s done a number of things to keep his mind active. He exercises every day, he reads more (lately crime and mythology books), he studies French on duolingo.com, and he sees a few friends in COVID-safe activities like walking in a park. Zoom calls and social media are not enough for him. He said the trick is to be relentlessly self-aware.
“It sucks to be auditing your behaviors that constantly, but it takes a steady, persistent level of self-vigilance to keep yourself from falling into that dark hole,” Kabel said.
Local therapist Gina LaRose, LPC, LMFT, promoted similar advice. “Check in with yourself periodically to keep a gauge on how you’re managing during the pandemic. Are there areas of your life that need some attention (physical/mental health, interpersonal relationships, self-care, etc.)? If any of these feel off kilter, some simple adjustments can make a big difference in how you feel and function,” LaRose said.
Even in non-pandemic years, loneliness and depression tend to increase during the holiday season. It’s a time when people are supposed to be happy, and when things aren’t going right, that can be a tough pill to swallow for many. Fortunately for those craving human connection during a pandemic, Louisiana’s winter weather is cold but doesn’t render the outdoors miserable or impossible. LaRose suggested socially-distanced outdoor activities for those feeling lonely as the holidays approach.
LaRose also emphasized that loneliness is a natural reaction to what’s transpired in 2020. Beating yourself up for that emotion will only make sadness or depression worse. Treat yourself with the same patience, kindness and understanding you would show a loved one. If negative emotions start to feel overwhelming, then you should seek help from a mental health professional.
“The first step…is to not judge yourself for feeling lonely or isolated and to remember that this feeling will not last forever,” LaRose said.
To view survey results Survey: Quiet stress in the pandemic
This article originally published in the December 7, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
