Vancouver Islanders who feel anxious, frustrated and overwhelmed by the seemingly endless ebb and flow of the COVID-19 pandemic are not alone, mental health experts say.
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) says demand for its services is on the rise across the board, including a 111% increase over pre-COVID calls to its crisis line at 310-6789.
the Bounce program is also experiencing a 50 percent increase in demand year over year. The telephone service teaches skills to help people overcome symptoms of mild to moderate depression and anxiety.
“We see people stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, alone,” spokeswoman Pamela Findling said. “It’s good to have all of these feelings.”
Almost two years after the start of the pandemic, Florence and Bruce McKeown find spending time on the beach at Cadboro Bay helping to improve their mental health. But even then, optimists say it’s tiring.
“It gets a little more exhausting when you have a false ending and it comes back,” says Bruce.
“Go away,” said Florence to the illness. “We have had enough.”
Mother of two, Frannie Wu, says it has been a “constant struggle” to keep her children safe and socialized.
“At this point, I feel a little numb from it all,” she said.
CMHA says the stressors people are feeling in British Columbia related to the restrictions and ever-changing outlook for COVID-19 are compounded by this summer’s deadly heat dome, flooding, fires and storms. unmarked tomb finds at former residential school sites.
“The biggest thing that can help with mental health is predictability and routine, as well as some stability. So for a lot of people that stability is shaken,” says Findling.
The mental health resource group urges people to seek help if they are overwhelmed. He says checking out someone else can help a person’s mind as well.
“It gives you that sense of community and that feeling that we’re all in the same boat,” she says.
Other tips include getting regular exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep, taking social media breaks, and focusing on what you can control.
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