Health

Florida’s Lockdown Will Have a Long-Lasting Mental Health Impact

Florida's Lockdown Will Have a Long-Lasting Mental Health Impact

“About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness of their lives. This can be defined as the general neurosis of our times.” – Carl Gustav Jung

 

Are you struggling with the mental health and emotional consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown?  If so, do you know where to get help? Should you get professional advice, or should you just ride this challenging time out?

By way of answering these questions, let’s consider the following discussion.

COVID-19: The lockdown and navigating the new normal

Before we look at the benefits of seeking professional counseling to help you navigate your way through these challenging times, let’s take a quick look at what COVID-19 is, and why it has resulted in such a severe global response.

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19 first appeared towards the end of 2019. It is a zoonosis that jumped from an animal host, probably a bat, through an intermediary like the pangolin, to a human host. And, then it mutated into its current form where it spreads rapidly via person-to-person transmission.

The virus is responsible for pneumonia-like illness in people who contract it. And, it can be deadly, especially for the elderly and other high-risk categories of people, including those with diabetes, cancer, heart problems, and obesity. It is currently sweeping through the world which infection numbers and fatalities at over five million people infected and circa 329 000 global deaths.

One of the challenges is that scientists don’t know much about the virus, how it originally spread from the animal host to the human host. What is known is that one of the only ways to control its spread is social distancing or social isolation. Therefore, most of the world’s governments have implemented some form of lockdown or stay-at-home orders.

“Therein lies the rub”, to quote William Shakespeare. Not only are people fearful and anxious about the virus and what the future will hold, but “humans are social creatures.” And, social distancing for weeks and months at a time has in fairly serious mental health consequences.

What is eCounseling?

Unfortunately, not much can be done about the need to self-isolate or stay at home. It is the status quo until the virus’s rampant spread, or a vaccine is developed. Therefore, the alternative is to seek professional counseling or psychological help to treat the resultant mental health issues.

Under normal circumstances, not the new normal, it would simply be a case of making an appointment and traveling to the specialist’s rooms. However, the lockdown has resulted in many services and businesses needing to move their operations to the digital space.

Therefore, the definition of eCounseling is simply professional counseling sessions that take place in the digital space instead of in the therapist’s rooms.

For the sake of completeness, let’s consider a formal definition of virtual, digital, or online counseling:

According to Wikipedia.com, “online counseling is the provision of professional mental health counseling services through the Internet. Services are typically offered via email, real-time chat, and video conferencing.”

And, eCounseling or electronic counseling is simply online counseling.

The benefits of eCounseling during the lockdown and beyond

Some of the advantages of eCounseling are obvious, while others are more hidden.

It is also worth noting that there is some discussion over the merits of online therapy sessions. However, the benefits far outweigh the negatives, especially in the current global environment. In many districts, where the lockdown is harder, it would not be possible to seek assistance with mental health conditions if there was no option of online therapy.

Online therapy is also an option for people living in remote areas.

Succinctly stated, many areas are rural and remote, and people living in these areas do not have access to mental health care. Therefore, online therapy is a viable option in that it provides a solution to the lack of availability of local mental health professionals.

Another benefit of eCounseling is that it helps people who are not mobile. Ergo, they have physical limitations or mental limitations, and they find it challenging to leave home to travel to the therapist’s rooms. Thus, by using the digital space, these people can get the emotional and mental health support that they need.

Convenience and cost-effectiveness are other benefits of online counseling. The cost of the travel as well as the time taken to get to the therapist’s rooms is mitigated when the counseling session is online. Thus, making it simpler to attend therapy sessions.

Final thoughts

Thus, should you need therapy, here is a  directory of Florida therapists for you to browse.

Finally, the most important point to remember is that battling emotionally and mentally during the COVID-19 pandemic is a normal response to this pandemic. And, it’s vital to seek professional help, before the feelings of fear and anxiety evolve into a more serious mental health disorder.

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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