The drastic changes over the last couple of years have many of us feeling exhausted, on-edge, and anxious. It is completely understandable if you are struggling right now to cope with the world around you. The prolonged stress may lead to feelings of loss, sadness, irritability, and general worry.
Health Anxiety
The pandemic has understandably increased feelings of anxiety among many people, whether this is something you’ve struggled with before or is new to you, the threat of Covid-19 has made many of us more aware of our health and wellbeing. Staying cognizant of how we’re feeling is important, but physical sensations are hard to manage and interpret if you are dealing with health anxiety. If you find yourself distressed by one or a few common symptoms, are consistently assuming the most extreme case scenario, or it is impacting your day-to-day life, you may want to speak to a mental health professional.
Impact on Families
Being concerned about visiting family members and possibly passing the virus to someone who has pre-existing health conditions is something many of us are experiencing. Family members have gone months without seeing each other just trying to be proactive. Finding balance around protecting your child or children while also ensuring they have social interaction is a tough challenge that many of us are facing. You are doing your best to prioritize the people in your life while also being aware of the impacts of Covid-19, so we encourage you to be kind and forgiving to yourself and to the people around you who may need extra encouragement.
Coping Strategies
- Although being informed is important, taking a break from the worry-loop of the news or social media cycle is a form of self-care.
- Taking care of your physical health through healthy eating and exercise, to the extent you are able to, is a way to feel better in the moment, while also feeling better about your health in the long term while navigating this pandemic.
- Many people have noted having a sense of relief following getting vaccinated. If you are vaccine-hesitant, we encourage you to book an appointment with your trusted healthcare provider to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
Your CAMIS Appointment
We take your health and comfort very seriously. Our staff are masked and protecting you as much as you are protecting us; we appreciate the mutual level of respect between our staff and patients as we navigate this together. We have enhanced cleaning protocols and social distancing measures in place and meet daily to review our processes, making enhancements and adjustments as necessary.
Anxiety around wearing masks is completely understandable, especially if you’ve experienced claustrophobia or certain types of trauma in the past. We are more than willing to take extra time for your appointment to help you through any added anxieties. Masks will be continued to be required until otherwise noted in order to help prevent the spread of the virus.
During times that we have screening questions, reduced capacity for support people, and/or mandatory masking, our intent and motivation is keeping everyone safe to the best of our abilities and we appreciate your patience with our staff.
Resources
Primary Care Network
Individuals who have an ongoing family doctor and team are healthier, live longer and are hospitalized less.If you don’t currently have a doctor, or would like to find out what Primary Care Network your doctor is apart of, we recommend looking at: https://albertafindadoctor.ca/pcn
AHS Mental Health Supports
Alberta Health Services has compiled a page of available resources and services.
These include initiatives directly related to Covid-19 such as Text4Hope and Togetherall to help you or someone you know, as well as free virtual stress management workshops or the new online Wellness Exchange.
Navigating Life in a Pandemic
Simone Saunders, a licensed mental health professional from Calgary, has created a free course called Navigating Life in a Pandemic. You can access the course by downloading the app “DiveThru” in the App Store or on Google Play.
