Pitt Partners for Health is focusing on mental health during May, as it is Mental Health Awareness Month. We find it necessary to address COVID-19 in our series of columns.
The COVID-19 outbreak is here in Eastern NC. It is taking a toll on adults and children, both physically and mentally. Our everyday tasks often are much more difficult due to the pandemic. Without our usual routines, our days blend together. To help us, a witty Facebook post announces what day it is in creative ways. This humorous public service announcement is a serious reminder that we have made it through weeks of fear, uncertainty, change, loss, adjustment and heroics.
How does all this affect our children? New research on the mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19 is just coming out. It points out that children are facing new situations that bring on more stress, anxiety and frustration. Examples are:
- Loss of routine,
- Separation from friends, extended family, and other trusted adults,
- More access to “scary” news about people dying,
- Hearing troubling adult discussions about what’s happening,
- Change in economic status,
- School closures, and
- Loss of extracurricular activities.
As confusing and frustrating as all this is to adults, it can be even more so for children.
Children may face other situations. Increased isolation and stress can result in more opportunities for child exploitation and physical and sexual abuse. Children may have lost the mental health supports they had been getting at school.
Any of these factors can contribute to traumatic stress. We do not know the long-term effects on children. But we do know that if traumatic stress is not addressed during the event or soon afterwards, it can remain etched into the body systems as trauma. There will be effects on the body and mind.
What can we do to help our children? We, as the trusted adults, can do some things to reduce or eliminate potential trauma. The following strategies are recommended:
Strategy #1: Recognize that children do not talk about stress. It shows up as a behavior or action. When faced with some or many of the factors stated above, children’s brains and bodies go into survival mode. This reaction helps protect them from the all the uncertainty. It looks different for each of them.
Children don’t decide how to act. Their brains decide which survival tool to use. You may observe following ways of coping:
- Irritability,
- Being “zoned-out”,
- Sensitivity to loud noises or creating loud noises,
- Withdrawing from others,
- Feeling tense,
- Rigid thinking, or
- Being overly emotional.
Adults may think the child is misbehaving. However, all these can be signs of anxiety and part of the brain’s survival response. Some children may develop headaches, stomachaches, tightness in the throat or just “feel bad.”
Strategy #2: Take a break from the bad news: Don’t “slime” your children. When children hear constant bad news stories, Francoise Mathieu, noted resilience researcher from TEND ACADEMY, calls it “sliming.” The more negative information they hear, the more it touches them emotionally and mentally. The information becomes overwhelming. The stress response stays on constant alert.
What can you do? The experts at TEND ACADEMY recommend listening to news no more than 10 minutes a day. Think carefully what information you want to share with your child. Put the information in age appropriate language. For instance, if you want to talk to your child about COVID 19, you can use educational programs or websites to help. Sesame Street and BrainPop.com can help you talk to your child about the news in ways they can understand. Limiting your news time helps with your own well-being, which enables you to “be present” for and with your child.
Strategy #3: Let your child know you are “there” for him/her. Help your child identify fears and respond to them. Do you have all the answers? Of course not. Be honest with your child about that. But make sure your child knows you are with him/her while you figure this out together. Here are some helpful tips:
- Set aside time for your child to talk about his/her worries. Also, take time to talk about the good things that happen. Have your child name three “good” things that happened during the day.
- An important time to reassure your child is just before bedtime. A few minutes of “being there” can be very comforting before the lights go out. This may help reset your child’s stress response and help him/her sleep better.
- Go outside for a quick walk or spend time in the yard. Use your five senses to tell each other what you notice and why you noticed it.
Doing these things together has another benefit. Your child learns skills to deal with stress. This helps your child build resilience to face future difficult times.
Strategy #4: Take care of yourself. Find strategies that work for you to build wellness and resilience during difficult times. Recognize that these strategies don’t take the negative away. The science of resilience tells us that these they help us reset the nervous system. They help our brain shift from the “survival” mode back to the “thinking” mode. We get the brain back online so we can use problem-solving skills. The more we use these strategies, the easier it becomes to get the brain back online. So, what are some of the strategies?
- Body Grounding: Lie on the ground or floor. Press your bare feet tightly against the floor. Squeeze playdough.
- Five Senses Grounding: Wear your favorite t-shirt and think about how it feels against your body. Make a cup of tea or coffee – Be aware of your senses of touch, smell, sight and taste as you sip it.
- Self-soothing Grounding- Take a shower or a bath. Find an object of your favorite color – describe it in detail: texture, shape, weight, shadow, light.
Go to Resources for Resilience at https://resourcesforresilience.com/ for more helpful strategies.
How caregivers and community agencies respond to traumatic events greatly affects the mental health of children. All must work together to help them grow up mentally healthy. Many community agencies and organizations are working together to share knowledge, skills and resources to support community members and families. Contact Bonnie Jean Kuras by phone (252-744-8334) or email (pcbrace2019@gmail.com) to learn more about what’s happening in Pitt County.
Pitt Partners for Health (PPH) is a community health improvement partnership with representatives from local churches, businesses, communities, the hospital, health department and other human service agencies. The partnership mission is to improve the population health of Pitt County through coalition building and partnership. PPH meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month in community locations throughout the county. If you have questions or for more information, please contact Tiera Beale (tiera.beale@vidanthealth.com)