On a day-to-day basis, every one of us is whipsawed
Dear Reader, Last April, I asked you all a straightforward question: Are you OK? At the time, we were three whole weeks into a pandemic.
In one grim way, the toll of COVID is readily apparent as we near the one-year mark: 612,000 reported cases and 15,600 deaths in Michigan alone.
But there are repercussions that are not as easy to quantify, and they hit all of us some way. That’s the mental and emotional effects of lives disrupted, of constant uncertainty, of months of seclusion and sacrifice.
Even before the pandemic, MLive had an ongoing reporting project on the mental health crisis in Michigan. A month into COVID, a federal emergency hotline for people with emotional distress registered a more than 1,000% increase in calls.
On a day-to-day basis, every one of us is whipsawed: Schools are open, schools shut down. Restaurants open for in-person dining, restaurants close. Vaccines are available – wait, I can’t get a vaccine? The nonstop political fighting over shutdown orders is a form of stress unto itself.
“There’s no denying that coronavirus mitigation strategies have some very real and very serious downsides,” said Julie Mack, public health reporter for MLive. “But medical professionals say the alternative is worse.”
The virus causes stress. The “cure” causes stress. And that is why we at MLive have committed to writing about the effects, as well as the causes.
For example, MLive education reporter Kayla Miller had this excellent piece recently on how the lack of peer-to-peer interaction and contact with teachers hurts the social and emotional development of children.
And over the last week, MLive sportswriter Scott DeCamp told the sad and sobering story of the loss of a young life. It was a case, his parents say, of existing issues with depression and mental illness compounded by the loss of access to high school sports.
Mental health has a stigma that we need to break, and stories like the Dethloffs’ help us deal with our own grief and stresses openly. We chose to write about it because even though those stories make us uncomfortable, we need to address a problem that only was compounded when COVID arrived.
I applaud the parents for speaking openly about their son’s struggle. And also, for taking care to say they are not pointing a finger of blame at any person or group. The enemy is a virus, and the stresses it lays on us all.
“There’s no question that the pandemic has increased stress, anxiety and depression,” said Mack. “However, health professionals say that’s largely a result of the pandemic itself, versus the government restrictions. Removing the restrictions would drive up case numbers – and that creates its own sources of depression and anxiety, especially for people who lose friends and family to the virus.”
If you are feeling overwhelmed from COVID and would like to access mental health services, visit this resource site offered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services or call 1-888-535-6136 and press “8.”
🎧 To hear all the stories behind the stories, click here and subscribe to our Behind the Headlines podcast.
Editor's note: I value your feedback to my columns, story tips and your suggestions on how to improve our coverage. Let me know how MLive helps you, and how we can do better. Please feel free to reach out by emailing me at editor@mlive.com.
John Hiner Executive Editor Vice President of Content Mlive Media Group
Having trouble viewing this email? View in your browser.
To ensure receipt of our emails, please add newsletters@update.mlive.com to your address book or safe sender list. You received this email because you are a subscriber to MLive.com newsletters. |