LETTER: Finding safety and help amid the pandemic

As we move into the end of fall term, our first term for students back on campus since spring 2020, we have had some time to reflect on the impact of the past pandemic season and our vision for moving forward; hopefully, differently.

For the past 18 months we’ve maintained a constant vigilance about our health and safety, a constant distance from others and a constant attention to distressing information from our various news feeds. All this has increased our level of anxiety, affected our attitudes about ourselves and our world and impacted our behavior in often wildly inappropriate ways. You may have experienced this, or read about it daily in our media. 

There’s a good explanation for this: anxiety, which is escalated nervous system arousal in the face of threat, primes us to fight, flee or freeze. Lots of fighting folks these days. Lots of avoidant folks these days, too. And lots of folks incapacitated by the stress.

I recommend you do a self-check to determine which you may be and to identify ways this may be keeping you from being and doing what you want. People have known me to say, “It’s not a problem if it’s not a problem.” But, we know when we have a problem; it’s when we’re in conflict with others about it, when it’s a barrier to our goals or when we’re experiencing undesirable consequences because of it.

If this is you, just know that you’re not alone. Anxiety is the No. 1 mental health problem right now. Anxiety affects almost 20% of the population but just over 30% of those people ever seek help (ADAA, 2020). And anxiety is highly treatable.

This stressful past 18 months has also changed the landscape considerably, making us more aware than ever of social injustices, environmental catastrophe, impacts of war and the economic fallout of this global pandemic. We mental health providers at SHAC and across the nation are hearing from clients daily about the negative view of the future shaped by this period.  

While depression usually affects about 8% of the adult population (NIMH, 2019), during the past 18 months that rate has risen to 27.8% (Ettman et al., 2021). Depression (a mood condition affected by negative thoughts about self, others and the world) kind of makes sense right now. It’s hard to feel bright and optimistic when chaos abounds and when our constant inputs are of the worst in human behavior.

So let’s stop it. Let’s change our feeds. Change the channel. Yes, chaos is out there. But so is beauty and love and laughter and generosity. Safety exists, too, in the safe spaces we create and maintain. Do what you need to do to create safety. Continue to mask, distance, sanitize just like we’ve been taught. Get vaccinated; stay vaccinated. But also make choices to minimize your exposure to toxic or violent people, places and images. If you need help with that, we’re here. Call us anytime (after hours, press option 3). 

Also know that depression is treatable, too. It can take time, and requires support and sometimes professional treatment, but we’ve got that, too. Depending upon the level of distress you can do some self-help using our TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) platform (find it and other help at mentalhealth.unm.edu) or call to schedule some comprehensive care. But, it helps also to know that for every bleak possibility, there is a bright one. Our world is changing, and some changes are for the better. Look for those; listen for those.

One positive development of these pandemic times is that the development of virtual mental health services and platforms exploded. They are everywhere and accessible all the time; for therapy, for support groups, for recovery, for social connection (you can find some at Verywell Mind with reviews) so no matter where you are, no matter what time it is, there is help available. Reach out. Let’s make that one positive change we can count on.

Stephanie D McIver, Ph.D., is the director of counseling services at UNM Student Health and Counseling