We here at Healthy Spines Chiropractic work with the spine and muscular structure, but we understand that emotions cause stress. That is why we team up with other professions to help us in helping you! What good is it to let you suffer with an emotional or mental health issue when we can refer you to someone who can help. Dr. Ruxandra is an amazing woman and here she is to help you with some Mental Health awareness tips during this difficult time. Below you will find her contact information. If any of this resonated with you I recommend sitting down with her to see how she can help you. You will be amazed on how your body reacts.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Has distance learning been kicking your butt? It has kicked mine. Are you exhausted, burnt-out, irritable, even angry? As a therapist, I haven’t seen much of an increase in sessions when Covid first started, but I surely have seen it when distance learning took over our lives in August.
When we talk about mental health awareness week, we usually talk about severe depression, bipolar disorder, autism, suicide and other chronic conditions. But this time, I want to talk about distance learning, especially as related to the parents that have to work while having to teach their kids and the teachers that have to manage the chaos on the other side while being parents themselves.
The stress has gone through the roof for kids, parents, and teachers. The work has doubled or tripled and the results have gone down because I truly believe across the board we are feeling and thinking we are half-a**ing teaching, working, and parenting…..and to a certain extent, we are. We are completely burnt out.
What makes it worse is the guilt and shame that come with feeling this way…because deep down, we feel like we should be handling our kids and the rest of our lives without any problems. But the stress from handling these things below is REAL:
· Managing staggered schedules of online log-ins especially if there is more than one child
· Becoming IT managers and making sure everything is working smoothly and on time
· Making sure the kids are paying attention in class, being fully clothed, taking notes, not picking their nose, not playing with toys, not eating (these are worse, the younger the kid)
· Brushing up on math, grammar, phonograms, then teaching these to the kids that have no interest in watching a zoom call, and then doing homework with them
· Feeding them, bathing them, managing video games schedules
ALL, while trying to get their own work done…The stress is REAL.
I don’t want to turn this into a long article because it would be completely counterproductive since no one has time to read more articles but I would like to make 3 major points:
1. Drop the perfection! It’s ok to half a** things during these times. We may miss some work, and assignments, and have leftovers, and have the kids fetch themselves some cheerios in the kitchen.
2. You need to re-charge your batteries in any way that’s possible; some days it may be just for 10 minutes, some for a full hour, but you need to put the oxygen mask on first, make a conscious effort to take time for yourself every day. Work out, make a smoothie, get a massage, do some acupuncture, chiropractor care, manicure, pedicure, get your hair done, go out with a friend and vent about how all of this sucks but you’ll get through it together because we WILL!
3. Social support makes a big difference. Despite all the covid restrictions, it is possible to have meaningful social contact. I’m not encouraging anyone to break covid protocol, but masks, 6 ft apart, zoom calls, phone calls all work and are important for adults as well as kids.
Ruxandra LeMay, PsyD
Fresh Start Therapy & Consulting
13575 W. Indian School Rd. Suite 500
Litchfield Park AZ 85340
Call (623) 628-0406 for a free 15-min consultation
Check out our free wellness library for resources on relationships, intimacy, anxiety, and stress management