COVID Times.

As I write this short blog post today, I am very much aware of the struggles that people are experiencing in the world around this virus. Many people have lost someone close to them, or have seen the ravaging sickness take hold of family members and count themselves blessed or lucky when the family member recovers. There are those who do not believe that this virus is real. There are those who feel that the virus might be real but that they themselves are invincible, capable of withstanding what it throws at them and that the virus would not make them sick. The reality is that the virus is very much real, and no amount of ignoring it will change that fact. The virus does not discriminate based on age, or gender, or economic standing, political or social power. It doesn't care who you are, or how strong you think you are…it can become a part of your life in a very negative way.

Many of the clients I have served over the last year have been impacted economically, personally, emotionally, or mentally by this pandemic. Some of them have suffered financial hardships in a manner that makes it difficult for them to recover, many are intensely stressed or anxious about being able to keep their job or just maintaining daily functioning. It is difficult to put a price on mental health, because good mental health allows us to function in the world, while poor mental health creates impairment that prevents us from being productive in society. As homelessness increases due to the pandemic and jobs are lost which creates even more difficulties for people, the stigma, bigotry, and even hatred continues to increase toward those ethnic populations who are thought to be the blame for the origin of the virus.

As a mental health professional I want to encourage all of you who are reading this blog post, to recognize that everybody across the world has been impacted by COVID-19, and that nobody really is left untouched. It is important for us to ban together, to work together, to have compassion for each other, and to recognize that we cannot go through this alone. This mental health counseling practice continues to remain closed to in person meetings, in an effort to reduce the spread and to lower the risk of exposure. However, services are being provided via video (Telehealth). Support is available for those who want it. We may not see what we knew as “normal” (pre-COVID times) for a while, and we have to live with the new circumstances accordingly. Yet we can get through it together. I want to encourage each of you reading this post to be kind to one another, to be of assistance to one another, and to recognize that even in the toughest of times humanity has been able to withstand the challenges.

If I can be of any assistance during this time and you live within the state of Washington, please feel free to reach out to me. I am here for you. You do not have to go through this pandemic alone.