Collectively, throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have endured continuous assaults on our sense of security and safety. The impact on our Mental Health Wellness may not fully be known for years to come. 

We have become battle weary. The stress of isolation, public fear, and uncertainty have been overwhelming. We grieve what was lost. Our resilience has been tested. We are homesick for the days before 2020 when life had fewer worries. Wisdom says we can’t go back. 

Now, as we adapt to surges and new variants, we each try to find our “new” normal. At the same time, we need to think about how we have been affected individually.

How has the Pandemic changed you or those close to you? If you reply, “It didn’t” but you observe that unexpected irritations now give way to bursts of impatience the response is, possibly, from a place of Pandemic Overwhelm. 

When is it advisable to seek professional Mental Health Counseling? Again, this is an individual choice that only you can make.

You may want to consider Counseling if you relate to any of the following suggestions. 

• Worsening or New symptoms of Depression or Anxiety
• Avoidance of people or places due to fear of possible exposure to the virus
• Unusually irritable, angry, hopeless, melancholy et cetera
• Experience sleep problems, nightmares, emotional reactions to people wearing (or not wearing) masks
• You are a helping professional who has job-related direct exposure to the COVID-19 virus or its variants
• You have a history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Stressors outside of your control, like this Pandemic, can affect PTSD symptoms. 

Our responses to COVID-19 are as varied as our own unique life experiences. Please, let’s avoid comparison of our struggles. It is not a competition. Empathy and compassion for ourselves and others will help us heal.