20 / FAMILY HEALTH GUIDE / FEBRUARY 2021
Maintaining mental health
amid the pandemic
Labhart: Everybody copes differently but needs to seek a connection
tions could come through nat-
ural support, such as family,
friends or community events.
of current The irony is that many peo-
ple with anxiety
and depression may
have a fear of initiat-
ing that connection,
he said.
“So one of the
best things that, as a
community, we can
do is reach out to
Eagle file photo those folks who we
Community
know are struggling
Counseling Solutions and do some out-
Clinical Director
reach,” he said.
Thad Labhart.
Labhart
said
reaching out to those
communities does not
a
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
With the stress
events and living
with a pandemic
for roughly a year,
people are strug-
gling with mental
health now more
than ever.
C o m m u -
nity
Counseling
Solutions
Clini-
cal Director Thad
Labhart
said,
“pandemic
or
not,”
everybody
copes differently
but needs to seek
connection.
Labhart said those connec-
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Here’s a list of common reac-
tions that may mean you should
reach out for more support, ac-
cording to the Federal Emergen-
cy Management Association.
Are you feeling:
• Talking about what happened
or listening to others?
• Getting out of bed?
• Anxious or fearful?
• Doing things you normally do,
like paying bills?
• Guilt or sadness?
Do you find yourself:
• Numb or disconnected from
life?
• Feeling tired all the time?
• Uninterested or unmotivated?
• Feeling tense or easily startled?
• Angry or irritable?
• Having headaches or other
physical pain?
• Lonely or socially isolated?
• Eating too much or too little?
• Distracted or disoriented?
• Experiencing nausea or stom-
ach aches?
Are you having trouble:
See Mental health, Page 21
• Concentrating, remembering
or making decisions?