UTICA, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – It’s the second October of the pandemic and Utica College’s Executive Director of Health and Wellness T.J. Lane about the mental health impacts this had on society.
“I think that right now there’s more uncertainty, we want to have consistency we want to have some stability and when we start to lose those things in our lives we lose a sense of stability in our lives it can cause a lot of distress,” said Lane.
Although the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters brought some hope to those struggling, now uncertainties may stem from other aspects of life impacted by the pandemic such as employment, finances or school. Lane explains that people are more tired now that we have been in a pandemic for over a year, and this can result in burnout making mental health issues worse. There are specific signs to know if these issues are impacting your mental health.
“If you’re not sleeping as well, if you’re not eating as much if you’re not exercising you’re not as active things like this are going to be pretty early signs that there might be something going on for you and that’s the best time to bring in some resources to help you cope whether its trying to socialize trying to exercise trying to sleep better eat better these sorts of things have to come in to play,” said Lane.
“Another result of these increased uncertainties is a rise in anxiety levels, which could cause society to react in ways that they normally wouldn’t,” said Lane.
“When its constant prolonged anxiety and stress I’m sure people’s reactions are going to be a little bit stronger than what they normally would have been,” said Lane.
Lane tells us to pay attention to ourselves and our loved ones to catch any early warning signs.
“I think the sooner that you ask for help the better the longer you take the more things are going to pile up the more overwhelmed you’re going to feel and the harder its going to be to get back on track,” said Lane.
