The devastating impact of COVID-19 over the past two years affected not only Americans, but the entire world and caused many of us to feel emotions we weren’t familiar with.
The unfathomable death of family and friends, the economic fallout, isolation and lockdowns were among many factors causing fear, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances along with an increase in substance use. This crisis substantially increased the prevalence of anxiety and depression by 25% worldwide. We have been living in a state of overwhelming and unrelenting trauma for the past two years.
Very recently, mask mandates began to ease up and we began to emerge from the despair caused by the virus. Just as we started to feel a bit of freedom and a glimmer of hope, the Russians invaded Ukraine and brought us an entire new slew of emotions, consisting of pain, sadness, shock and confusion.
As disturbing as the trauma of the invasion is to watch, it’s just as difficult to pull ourselves away from it at the expense of our mental health. We want to do something to ease their suffering but feel powerless. There are so many questions with unknown answers. What will become of the Ukrainian people? Will the US get involved? Will nuclear weapons come into play? What is Putin’s next move? The unknown can be terrifying.
With the news flooding us with constant updates of the war, and social media inundating us with images of heartbreak, fear, death and destruction, we must take some time away from our screens and focus on how we are feeling. This is difficult to do when we witness the agony of the Ukrainians displaced from their homes, trying to protect their children, saying good-bye to husbands, fathers and sons who stay behind to fight. Their stories resonate with us, and we empathize with their pain making it difficult to take our minds off it.
This can manifest as vicarious trauma, described as a process of a negative psychosocial change stemming from empathetic engagement and preoccupation of others suffering from trauma and is common with caregivers. We may start to have trouble coping with our own emotions, suffer with sleep disturbance and somatic symptoms, excessive worry over our own family’s safety, increased irritability, and even withdrawing from meaningful relationships, all of this trickling down into our work and relationships with our residents and co-workers.
It’s crucial to check in with ourselves and become aware of how this is affecting us and those around us. Let others know how you are feeling, share concerns, talk it out, come up with coping strategies. Continue your regular daily routines but start to control the volume of news and/or social media you and your residents are consuming.
Put boundaries in place and make the decision to only watch the news at noontime or at 6 pm. Catching the latest updates will keep you in the know without immersing yourself in the daily cruelty and violence. Monitor the behaviors of residents for an increase in agitation, irritability, increased lethargy or reduction in appetite which can all be signs of growing depression and anxiety.
Get outside with friends for social activities and take time for self-care with activities such as reading, walking, meditation, or prayer. Sometimes just sitting at our desk, closing our eyes, and taking deep breaths is all we can do at that moment in time. Consider the option of talking to a therapist who can help you work through your emotions and learn to cope with them.
Behavioral health providers are here to help you and your residents make sense of and work through what you may be feeling. Many can offer access to telehealth therapy from the comfort of home, whether that be in a long-term care facility, assisted living facility or private home. Please reach out, we are here to help you.
Sherri Perry, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, is clinical director at CHE Behavioral Health Services. She is a nurse practitioner dedicated to improving the quality of life and mental health of residents and employees in long-term care and assisted living facilities for the past 10 years.
The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.
