Connections

This thought occurred to me the other day:  It has never been more clear that we value physical health over mental health.

I get that we can count cases of people who have contracted the virus, and measure their physical health outcomes. I am super thankful for smart women doctors at the helm in Alberta and Canada who are calmly and bravely leading us through this challenging time. I am self-isolating as much as possible with my family. So I get it, and I’m doing it.

But hardly anything about this plan feels right for the mental health of our global population. I’m a person who believes very strongly in connection. I think it’s key to almost any kind of growth, peace or joy, whether we realize it or not, and whether we consider ourselves an introvert or an extrovert.  It’s one of the reasons I can’t give up on church, flawed as it is. The ramifications of this time on the mental health of parents and children and everyone else just seems immense to me.

I told my son the other day that this virus and isolation scenario hasn’t ever happened in my life time and not really even in his grandparents’ life time. He was surprised to hear that, and it made me wonder what all the kids out there are thinking from their younger perspective. This is new territory for every one of us, with our work or lack thereof, with our relationships and really even with ourselves. Lots of us are facing fears we haven’t faced before, or experiencing anxiety we haven’t felt before, or feeling things that we don’t even recognize or know what to do with. And our kids are watching us work our way through it.

Thus, in a time of so much upheaval, to tell people not to connect with others is about the worst idea we could have if we value mental health. I’m so glad to hear the messaging changing to ‘physical distancing’ from ‘social distancing’, as social distancing is the absolute last thing any of us need right now. We need to connect with others, partly for the need of our own mental health, but also maybe for theirs.

Why does mental health fall lower on the priority list world-wide? I guess because it is more difficult to measure, as it is more subjective and individual. We also don’t have easy answers for it and you can’t mandate it or even really medicate it better for someone (although thank you Lord for medications at this time). It’s also something we don’t talk about much even in the good times. You know the Bell Let’s Talk campaign? Let’s Talk, people. Now is the time. It’s an SOS for the mental health of us all.

Be brave and tell someone how you’re feeling, or just reach out to chat. Be honest about the hard things, I can almost guarantee you’re not alone. We are all a work in progress, and giving ourselves grace is really important, especially right now, which I think is my point in this whole post.

Take a breath and feel the air fill up your lungs, relax your shoulders as you exhale, and realize you are here for a purpose and you are not alone. Reach out for help when you need it. God sees you. Shine the Light. Love to you, friend.