Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: The Need for Community Support is Greater Now More Than Ever!
At Outreach we are committed to our Mission: Promoting health and wellness to all individuals that we serve, because here at Outreach Community Health Centers healing, hope and community come first.
You can be rest assured that as we strive to be your trusted community health center we will do so by offering quality, integrated care and services that address social determinants of health.
Now, more than ever, our community needs to come together and face the issues caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, that still plague our friends, neighbors and colleagues.
How COVID-19 has Highlighted the need for Mental Health Support
Many are worried about COVID-19, and how it’s affecting their mental health. Many are living with concerns and finding things harder to cope with or experiencing mental health problems for the first time.
From hugs to high fives, COVID-19 has changed the way we interact and connect to those around us; here are some of the common experiences of how our mental health can be affected during this time:
The COVID‐19 pandemic has forced a worldwide lockdown with huge numbers of citizens confined to their homes, often resulting in social isolation.
Coping with a lack of control, as lifestyles and routines have had to change this can leave you feeling anxious, frustrated and even a little bit lost as the things which motivated and provided structure for your life have decreased.
COVID-19 has also led to a collective loss of normalcy.
Communities were stretched thin on resources which creates a shift in connection. Community is essential for health and wellbeing, and we are all more aware now of the value of social connections, sense of belonging and mutual trust.
School aged youth and their families had to adjust to school closures, tattered friendships, and a lack of access to the resources they would usually have through schools.
Due to COVID-19, major changes to how, or even whether, you work have occurred. Families have been forced to adjust to working from home in turn longer periods of staying seated and screen time has increased. Studies have shown that this is consistently negatively associated with current and future mental health and wellbeing, not to mention the toll that job loss has taken on the mental health of some families in our community.
All of this has shown just how necessary mental health and strong support systems truly are!
At Outreach we strive to provide comprehensive Mental Health Support to serves all of our patient populations. We lead with compassion and drive with understanding!