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Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. It affects
how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to
others, and make choices.

Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:

• Biological factors, such as genetics or brain chemistry
• Life experiences, like stress and trauma
• Family history of mental health problems

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The English word “trauma” is derived from the Greek word for “wound.” this word
connotes a physical injury and parallels the psychic wounding that can follow a
traumatic experience.

Trauma results from exposure to an incident or series of events that are emotionally
disturbing or life-threatening. A traumatic event is a shocking, scary, or dangerous
experience that can affect someone emotionally and physically. Experiences like
abuse, neglect, sudden separation from a loved one, racism, discrimination, and
oppression, violence in the community, or exposure to long-lasting disruptive
circumstances.

Responses to trauma can be immediate or delayed, brief or prolonged. Most people

have intense responses immediately following, and often for several weeks or
months after a traumatic event.

Physical symptoms may include:

Headaches, Stomach pain and digestive issues, Feeling tired, Racing heart and
sweating, and muscle tension, dizziness, and changes in sleep patterns (including
sleeping too much or too little or having nightmares/night terrors related to trauma).

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Psychological/emotional responses may include:
Anger toward others involved, anger/rage, depression, emotional rollercoaster
(lability), fear, fearing ongoing victimization/trauma, fearing what others think, feeling
hopeless/powerless, feeling unsafe/vulnerable, guilt/frustration, loneliness, sadness,
and shock or numbness.

Cognitive responses may include confusion, difficulty concentrating, remembering, or

making decisions, distorted thoughts, flashbacks, intrusive images, slowed thinking,
thinking the world is unsafe, thoughts about dying, too many thoughts at once.

Mood and Behavioral responses may include withdrawing from friends/family, angry
outbursts, changes in sexual activity, clinging to indivudals, relationship conflict,
critical of others, crying, decreased engery and activity, difficulty trusting, disruption
of daily routine, false generalizations about others, inability to perform routine tasks,
increased use of substances, irritability, strong reactions to small changes

Sprititual responses may include despair, feeling life is meaningless, loss of faith,
questioning old beliefs, sense of the world being changed, spiritual doubts,
withdrawal from church, community, or spirituality.

For most people, these are normal and expected responses and generally lessen with
time.
In some cases, these responses continue for a longer period of time and interfere
with everyday life. If they are interfering with daily life or are not getting better over
time, it is important to seek professional help.

Children and teens can have different reactions to trauma than those of adults.
Symptoms sometimes seen in very young children (less than six years old) can
include:
Wetting the bed after having learned to use the toilet
Forgetting how to or being unable to talk
Acting out the scary event during playtime
Being unusually clingy with a parent or other adult
Older children and teens are more likely to show symptoms similar to those seen in
adults. They may also develop disruptive, disrespectful, or destructive behaviors.
Older children and teens may feel guilty for not preventing injury or deaths. They may
also have thoughts of revenge.

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/coping-with-traumatic-events/index.shtml

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Dass-brailford et al “a practical approach to trauma”

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Trauma and mental health affect our ability to deal with stress and stress impacts our
mental health.

Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response.
The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental and emotional responses.
Stress is a normal part of life. You can experience stress from your environment, your
body and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage
or the birth of a child produce stress.

prolonged or repeated arousal of the stress response can have harmful physical and
psychological consequences. Those repercussions include ailments from heart
disease and diabetes to anxiety and depression.

Certain groups of people may experience stress in different ways. For example,
minorities may experience stressors related to their minority status above and
beyond those stressors experienced by everyone.

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We are all going through a LOT right now. Over the last year, things have been going
on that we have no real idea how to successfully deal with. We are trying, together
and apart, to navigate a world that is unlike anything we’ve experienced. We’re going
to spend just a little bit of time talking about just how different the world is becoming
and how these ch

The United States is a nation currently plagued by many crises. We are facing a public
health crisis, an economic crisis, and a civil rights crisis all at the same time. anges are
impacting us.

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Institutional Racism & White Supremacy in the spotlight

Grief in bipoc communities

Constant exposure to racist and oppressive dialogue

Discrimination and violence, microaggressions

Racism at all levels (i.e., interpersonal, societal, political)

Political Climate also contributes to stress, especially among minority groups like
BIPOC, GSD, and others
• Widespread division
• Family conflict and disagreement
• Extreme beliefs
• Political stress

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We’re seeing a lot of impacts on wellness resulting from the current conditions of the
world. “At this time of crisis, one of the highest tolls is at a psychosocial level, testing
the resilience and adaptive resources of the population”n (WHO, 2020)

Globally, we have seen rapid increases in psychological distress, including symptoms

of anxiety and depression, substance misuse, and suicidality. The Chronic stress, fear,
and worry surrounding the COVID19 pandemic can be thought of as an ongoing
traumatic stressor. Social isolation and loneliness are impacting much of us in ways
we have never seen before, and extraverts may be suffering more than others from
the social distancing measures.

Changes in daily routine may be particularly harmful for children and adolescents,
whose withdrawal from social life and daily activities, combined with the fear,
anxiety, and the sense of the future as unpredictable, may increase the risk of
developing psychological disorders.

Identity-related stressors are specifically impacting individuals in BIPOC and GSD

communities due to the widespread ‘debate’ on the worth of their lives, exposure to
discrimination and oppression, and systemic barriers to wellbeing.

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Worldwide, there has been an increase in suicidality experienced since the beginning
of the pandemic. In many instances, the increases are among young people. The
world is kind of a ’perfect storm’ of sorts for suicidality, especially in indivduals who
were experiencing distress and mental health challenges even before the pandemic.
The percentage of respondents who reported having seriously considered suicide was
significantly higher among respondents aged 18–24 years (25.5%), minority
racial/ethnic groups (Hispanic respondents [18.6%], non-Hispanic black [black]
respondents [15.1%]), self-reported unpaid caregivers for adults§ (30.7%), and
essential workers¶ (21.7%).

Brown & schuman, 2021; Rutherford et al., 2020; Rosenberg et al, 2021; casetllano-
tejedor et al., 2021; ammerman et al., 2020; gleimesteret al., 2021; levine & shear,
2021; de Figuieriedo et al., 2021; Yildirim et al., 2020

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Early Warning Signs
Not sure if you or someone you know is living with mental health problems?
Experiencing one or more of the following feelings or behaviors can be an early
warning sign of a problem:
Eating or sleeping too much or too little
Pulling away from people and usual activities
Having low or no energy
Feeling numb or like nothing matters
Having unexplained aches and pains
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
Yelling or fighting with family and friends
Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head
Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
Thinking of harming yourself or others
Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or
school

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(mentalhealth.gov)

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Walk through warning signs. . .

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Ask.
Are you okay? How can I support you?
Have an open, honest conversation.
o Talk to them in private.
o Listen to their story.
o Tell them you care about them.
o Ask them directly if they’re thinking about suicide or taking their life.
o Encourage them to seek treatment or contact their therapist/doctor.
o Help them develop a safety plan

Get them talking about their reasons for living—it can be literally anything. Can’t wait
for the next Mountain dew flavor? Hanging on until Lizzo drops a new album? Just
waiting for live music to be a thing again? That’s fine! The goal here is to find some
sort of attachment to life and staying alive. Even finding one reason to stay can
generate a lot of hope.

AVOID:

Threatening

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 “I’m going to call the cops on you”
“You’re going to get locked up”
Debating the value of life
Minimizing their problems
Telling them to think about their children/family

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“

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If you are able, Stand up and/or stretch. breathe. Feel your connection to the earth.
Tune in to your body. Lower your gaze. Scan your body and notice physical sensations
or emotions. Discharge any unpleasant sensations, emotions or feelings on the out
breath. Notice any pleasant ones and let them fill you up on the in breath.
Observe. Lift your eyes and take in your surroundings. Observe something in your
environment that is pleasant and be grateful for it and its beauty.
Possibility. Ask yourself what is possible or what is new or what is a forward step.
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If you find yourself being reactive, try the following steps:
Pause and take one to three big breaths.
Say “step back.” ( You don’t have to physically step back, you can just do it in your
mind.)
Say “clear head.”
Say “calm body.”
Breathe again. Say “relax,” “melt” or “ease.”

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(mentalhealth.gov)

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seeking social support has been identified as a strategy to cope with covid-related
stress. In general, we are social creatures. We are pretty accustomed to having a TON
of social contact. Covid has changed the way we think about socializing. There is
some debate over whether remote/virtual social contact is as effective in meeting
our interpersonal needs as face-to-face contact, but there is no doubt that we need
social interaction.

Some common quarantine and isolation techniques include:

Spending time with family
Seeking spiritual guidance
Talking with friends and others online
Using social media to stay connected

There is definitely a need to go out of our way to increase social connection right
now. Social connection is a huge protective factor and greatly increases resilience. So
when you reach out to someone or take an extra few of seconds to chat with
someone in line at the store, you’re not only helping to build your resilience, but
you’ll help them boost their resilience, as well.

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Helping others can also be a great way to maintain social connectedness. For
example, there is a project in which you can volunteer to write and send cards to
individuals and groups to offer support and show solidarity during this difficult time.
The cards are sent to nursing homes, first responders, essential workers, healthcare
workers, and others. Volunteers for the project as well as recipients of the cards have
reported benefits to participating.

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Avoidance and having a positive appraisal of the situation have been suggested as
coping strategies to alleviate covid anxiety. Although our interpersonal- and socially-
based coping may be limited right now, many of the coping skills we regularly use are
individual and internal already. Coping in isolation may be more difficult for some
individuals than others, but there are a lot of options and you can do whatever works
best for you! We’ll talk about some of those options now.

Common quarantine coping strategies include

Information seeking
Preventative behavior
Playing games
Avoiding news about covid (yildirim et al., 2020)

Recommended coping techniques:

Maintaining a schedule
Sleep hygiene and physical activity
Meditation and mindfulness
Increasing Pleasant activities https://blog.zencare.co/big-list-of-pleasurable-activities-
coronavirus/

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Gratitude journal
Journaling – “writing about trauma reduces stress and aids immunity”
https://www.apa.org/research/action/writing; historians recommend writing during
times like these
istraction and Avoiding 24-hour bad news

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Problem-focused coping has been recommended as a covid-specific coping strategy..

Problem-focused coping helps you deal with stress by identifying the fundamental
cause of the stress in an objective manner and then developing a plan to address the
source of stress.

Learning how to cope using problem—solving skills involves:

Knowing how to identify the problem
Defining the problem in a helpful way
Trying to understand the problem more deeply
Setting goals related to the problem
Generating alternative creative solutions to the problem
Choosing the best course of action
Implementing the course of action you have chosen
Evaluating the outcome to determine next steps

For example, if your problem is that you’re feeling cooped up and restless because
you spend too much dang time inside and can’t do anything fun anymore because of
covid, you would

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identify the problem: being inside too much;
define the problem in a helpful way: I’m spending a lot of time inside because of the
changes in the world recently (versus: I am only allowed to stay inside and i will never
be able to do anything I like to do again);
try to understand the problem: look up why social distancing is so important, remind
yourself that you’re saving lives;
Setting goals related to the problem: go somewhere different once a week; go
outside every day
Generating creative alternative solutions to the problem: research different activities
and spaces you can try, find outside activities you can do in your own space, go for a
walk;
Choosing the best course of action: make a pro-con list—what pros can you think of
for each of your potential solutioins? What might be downsides to those solutions?;
Implementing the course of action you have chosen: do the thing! Maybe try a couple
of the different solutions.
Evaluating the outcome to determine next steps: reflect on how you felt during/after
implementing the course of action. What might you change? What will you keep
doing?

https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-problem-solving-therapy-4767991

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https://trauma-recovery.ca/resiliency/what-is-resiliency/

Resiliences associated with higher subjective wellbeing during COVID pandemic and
isolation. (kocjan et al., 2020)

Resilience is the ability to adapt to difficult situations. It won’t make your problems
go away, but it can give you the ability to see past them, better handle stress, and find
enjoyment in life.

“In the context of exposure to significant adversity, resilience is both the capacity of
individuals to navigate their way to the psychological, social, cultural, and physical
resources that sustain their well-being, and their capacity individually and collectively
to negotiate for these resources to be provided in culturally meaningful ways.”

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/resilience-training/in-
depth/resilience/art-20046311

Tips to improve your resilience

If you'd like to become more resilient, consider these tips:

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Get connected. Building strong, positive relationships with loved ones and friends can
provide you with needed support and acceptance in good and bad times. Establish
other important connections by volunteering or joining a faith or spiritual community.
Make every day meaningful. Do something that gives you a sense of accomplishment
and purpose every day. Set goals to help you look toward the future with meaning.
Learn from experience. Think of how you've coped with hardships in the past.
Consider the skills and strategies that helped you through difficult times. You might
even write about past experiences in a journal to help you identify positive and
negative behavior patterns — and guide your future behavior.
Remain hopeful. You can't change the past, but you can always look toward the
future. Accepting and even anticipating change makes it easier to adapt and view
new challenges with less anxiety.
Take care of yourself. Tend to your own needs and feelings. Participate in activities
and hobbies you enjoy. Include physical activity in your daily routine. Get plenty of
sleep. Eat a healthy diet. Practice stress management and relaxation techniques, such
as yoga, meditation, guided imagery, deep breathing or prayer.
Be proactive. Don't ignore your problems. Instead, figure out what needs to be done,
make a plan, and take action. Although it can take time to recover from a major
setback, traumatic event or loss, know that your situation can improve if you work at
it.

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There are many factors associated with resilience. Some of the more common
aspects of successful navigation and negotiation for well-being under stress include
the following:
General Factors
assertiveness
ability to solve problems
self-efficacy
ability to live with uncertainty
self-awareness
a positive outlook
empathy for others
having goals and aspirations
ability to maintain a balance between independence and dependence on others
appropriate use of or abstinence from substances like alcohol and drugs
a sense of humour
a sense of duty (to others or self, depending on the culture)
Relationship Factors
parenting that meets the child’s needs

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appropriate emotional expression and parental monitoring within the family
social competence
the presence of a positive mentor and role models
meaningful relationships with others at school, home, and perceived social support
peer group acceptance
Community Factors
opportunities for age-appropriate work
avoidance of exposure to violence in one’s family, community, and with peers
government provision for children’s safety, recreation, housing, and jobs when they
are at the appropriate age to work
meaningful rites of passage with an appropriate amount of risk
tolerance of high-risk and problem behavior
safety and security
perceived social equity
access to school and education, information, and learning resources
Cultural Factors
affiliation with a religious organization
tolerance for different ideologies and beliefs
adequate management of cultural dislocation and a change or shift in values
self-betterment
having a life philosophy
cultural and/or spiritual identification
being culturally grounded by knowing where you come from and being part of a
cultural tradition that is expressed through daily activities
Physical Ecology Factors
access to a healthy environment
security in one’s community
access to recreational spaces
sustainable resources
ecological diversity (for more on this, see http://www.resilliance.org and
our publications)

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