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Let& #39;s take a moment to talk about mental health and not being okay during this pandemic: a thread.
I understand everyone is going through a lot during this time. I& #39;m not comparing my burdens or saying that mine is greater than what others are going through at all. 1/??
I understand everyone is going through a lot during this time. I& #39;m not comparing my burdens or saying that mine is greater than what others are going through at all. 1/??
When everything started, I felt pretty comfortable with knowledge I was getting. Being a journalist meant that we were talking to all the experts, we got information directly from the sources. I could ask questions that I had and feel comfortable with the info I got. 2/??
I& #39;m not sure when things started to change, but at some point it started to become "too much" in the sense that the pandemic became an integrated part of our lives that there was no unplugging from it even when I wasn& #39;t at work. 3/??
Then things at work got overwhelming where things were changing constantly and I constantly felt like I was scrambling to keep up with everything. Instead of feeling like I did a good job at the end of my shifts, I felt like a failure. 4/??
Take those feelings of failure and mix it in with extremely mean listeners who yell over the phone for no reason and I was feeling like I was doing a pretty lousy job as a news producer and editor. 5/??
Then having to wear masks all the time, even while at work, triggered some deep seeded traumas connected to my brain surgery recovery. That blind sided me because I thought I was very much over all of that. 6/??
I didn& #39;t realize how bad my anxiety had gotten until I realized I wasn& #39;t eating. I got meal replacement shakes so that I could at least get nutrients into me. When I was at work, I wasn& #39;t really eating or drinking enough water. Some shifts, I didn& #39;t even leave my desk. 7/??
As someone who suffers from depression and general anxiety anyway, I thought I could power through it. But everything in my life was disrupted. A quick run to the grocery store was no longer quick and it had to be crammed between work shifts. 8/??
There was nothing stable in my life, especially since I didn& #39;t really know what to anticipate when I got into work. I tried to create some, but that was challenging. Then it got to the point where I wasn& #39;t sleeping because my insomnia had taken hold. 9/??
Finally, I realized that I was not in a good place and I was spiraling and something needed to be done or else I would suffer long-term. Plus, I& #39;m no good to anyone if I& #39;m not healthy and well and whole, right? 10/??
So I took most of the entire month of May off, to get my mental health back in order and to take care of myself first and foremost. Did it feel selfish? Absolutely. Did I feel guilt for not going to work during this pandemic when people are needed? Yes. 11/??
But it was needed. I needed to get back on track. I needed to get better. I& #39;m really appreciative of the support my bosses and managers have given me during this time, and my coworkers for checking in on me. I& #39;m not 100% yet, but I& #39;m a lot better than where I was. 12/??
I& #39;m just sharing a small fraction of my thoughts and what I went through in hopes that someone else out there isn& #39;t suffering alone. You are absolutely not alone in your anxiety, depression, or poor mental state during this pandemic. 13/??
