Grappling with the COVID-19 mental health realities

In January it was bushfires, and in February we began to hear about a new virus.  By March, it was well and truly on us, and by the end of that month the minds of everyone in the world were trained on COVID-19, barring schools of deniers, doom’s-dayers, conspiracy theorists, among other factions.  Knowing nothing in practice about the Spanish Flu from 1918-1920, we attempted to grapple with the so-called first, second and third waves, knowing that the first wave was all that mattered for that time being.  We quickly braced for lockdown, and depending on our area of the world, the next few months made the previous years of our lives look pretty boring in stark comparison.  I think we all feared the worst, given that lockdown presented a huge number of unknowns.

Fast forward a few months, and we know a little bit more about what we’re in for, and we’ve faced so much over those intervening months — the war over masks, Black Lives Matter only two — not to mention huge decisions over schooling, work, our elderly loved ones, etc.  The virus is highly contagious, and whilst it doesn’t kill everyone, there are still so many unknowns about it.  And it has crippled us economically.  All the uncertainty, job losses, fears for contracting the illness, physical distancing and masking issues (to wear one or not), and the idea that we are contained to one area of the world for some time yet, all bear down upon numerous other realities we cannot change and can only accept.

More and more of recent we are hearing in the news media that this virus is here to stay for the next year or two or three.  Many countries in the world are facing economic outlooks of recession, if not depression.  Just now there are grim reports out of Indonesia and the Philippines.  Areas like these who cannot contain the virus will slip into poverty that will see malnutrition and starvation killing many more than even the virus.  Countries only need what happened to Beirut with the ammonium nitrate explosion disaster to leave them completely exposed to devastation.  And there are so many developed nations that face far worse outcomes than this Westerner can conceive.

We may well imagine what a major weather or environmental disaster might do at this point — like a 2004/2011 tsunami.  The fact is, these concerns and so many more keep people awake at night, they do cause nausea, they do cause panic attacks, they do tip people into addiction, and they do cause a sense of despair in many who are just trying to step one yard at a time in this life.

Dealing with the COVID-19 mental health realities is a conundrum all its own.  The solace we can take from all this is we’re in this together.  Many are losing jobs at the same time.  Many are in lockdown at the same time.  Many are losing loved ones.  Many are seeing property prices collapse at the same time.  Yes, many are facing financial uncertainty at the same time.  We’re all riding this ‘wave’ together.  And we will get through together.

But this doesn’t stop us from feeling very alone in our own individual ways of coping with the present disaster.  Moreso now than ever, we’re facing the reality that this crisis will continue, when only a few months ago we may have doubted the predictions of experts.  As that reality grounds itself in our psyche, as it lands as an irrefutable fact on our experience, it will have a deeper and further impact on our outlook upon life.  The thought of carrying or wearing a mask even six months ago for most of us would have been the last thing on our minds.  Now we are thinking about our elderly parents and grandparents in a completely different light, and even young people have been seriously ill from or died of COVID-19.

How will we get through this next several months to a year or two?  How will we get through this period stronger and more resilient?  The fact is, we will.  In getting up each day and doing the best we can, we will get through this, just like those 100 years ago got through.  We will get through, and things will change, and we will need to be ready to continue to adapt to change.  The thing we need to remember is we will get through this.  Those who insist on it will get through.

The mental health realities will necessarily cause us all to grow more in empathy and compassion.  We all have the opportunities to become more pastoral.  We will all have opportunities to care for people amid times also when we may be cared for.  It takes humility to accept care, just as it takes humility to provide good care.  And it is care that we need to reach out for and provide as needs arise.

What is most unquestionable about the COVID-19 crisis is that it’s here for some time yet, and there will be a high human impact and cost, and that prayer is never more important.  The Lord Jesus, of course, commanded us to love our neighbour, and that is our imperative today and all days, and we must also leave room enough to ensure we look after ourselves so we can look after our neighbour.

For those who are depressed or dealing with severe anxiety, let us pray that those of us who are desperate would get the help that we need, whilst praying also that there might be an opportunity to serve and help when we are able to.

Loving Lord God,

We lift our world before You and ask that You heal our world in good time, that You alleviate hunger, protect our health workers, get aid to those who need it, compel governments to govern well, and give the all-sufficient power of Your grace to all those who need it.  For the Lord Jesus’ sake, we pray.

AMEN.

If any of this disturbs you, I encourage you to contact help in your country.  International Helplines Checkpoint: https://checkpointorg.com/global/

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash