Human contact is a basic need, making self-isolation during the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic a mental health challenge for many. The ongoing self-isolation and quarantine protocols can result in an individual feeling anxious, stressed and depressed, due to a disruption in their everyday routine and uncertainty of when the pandemic will end. For me parents and kids are frontline workers. Now in the thick of the pandemic, you are faced with fatigue, burnout, and stress.
Many of the top psychologists and mental health workers, I follow totally agree with the new struggles facing us and our kids. By the way it’s coming faster than most expect.
“The next wave is going to be a lot of mental health issues, especially among people who have been on the frontlines for the last 12 month and for however much longer to go”
Personally, I don’t think there’ll be enough social workers and psychologists and therapists to deal with the demand that’s going to happen. So I’ve been tweaking the live online classes more and more to integrate more fun, creativity, laughter and mindfulness training into the session I’m teaching online for the kids and adults.
At the same time I’m also preparing for the aftermath that accompanies these things (PTSD) Post-traumatic stress. Through my years of teaching and training I have been exposed to the hard realities of PTSD in military, police and security services.
So much of the curriculum I will be teaching at FC when ‘the dust settles’ will be treating trauma, stress, and burn-out, and those struggling with their mental health.
Self-care is not selfish – it’s survival
You can’t keep going through life without taking the time for yourself. One of the most important practices for mental health during the pandemic is basic self-care, which includes eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep. As parents if you can enforce and promote this message - you will be saving yourself a lifetime of issues that can arise in your kids.
Hope to see you and the kids online,
Emmanuel
There are currently a number of resources, like mental health webinars and cognitive behavioral therapy, that are available for free online. The Mental Health Commission of Canada, for example, has made a number of tools and resources available (mentalhealthcommission.ca).