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Mental-health Needs Continue

By Contributor
Opinion

Opinion

By Negar Beheshti, MD

 

The emergency declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic may end on May 11, depending on the specific policies and guidelines of each country or region. However, the mental-health needs of individuals affected by the pandemic are likely to continue long after the official declaration ends.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant stress and uncertainty for many people, including social isolation, financial difficulties, and concerns about health and safety. These stressors can take a toll on mental health, leading to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental-health issues.

While the end of the pandemic may bring some relief, it is important to recognize that the mental-health impacts of the pandemic may be long-lasting. Therefore, it is essential to continue to prioritize mental healthcare and support, both for those who have been directly affected by the pandemic and for the general population.

This can include accessing mental-health services, practicing self-care strategies such as mindfulness and exercise, and seeking support from friends, family, or mental-health professionals as needed. By taking steps to address their mental health, individuals can promote their overall well-being and resilience in the face of ongoing challenges.

Mental Health America’s 2023 ranking of states in terms of higher access to mental healthcare shows Massachusetts continues in a top position. The Commonwealth, which has made access a priority through its recent creation of Community Behavioral Health Centers, ranks second, as it did in 2022, in terms of such markers as access to insurance, treatment, and quality and cost of insurance.

Lack of affordability and lack of access are consistently among the barriers cited in seeking mental healthcare, so it is good to see the state maintain its ranking on access in comparison to other states. Massachusetts, through its Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform, is working to reduce these barriers, and we here at MiraVista are proud that our opening nearly two years ago in the middle of the pandemic created additional inpatient psychiatric beds in the state for both adults and youth, as well as expanded inpatient treatment for substance use.

Still, the need for increased mental-health services — and the funding to support them — to meet demand continues both in the state and nationally.

The pandemic brought attention to the existing gaps in mental-health services and has spurred efforts to address them. It is crucial to recognize that the need for mental-health support and resources continues to exist post-pandemic, and individuals should be encouraged to seek help and support whenever necessary.

Our experienced clinicians deliver patient-centered and evidence-based care, helping those with mental-health and substance-use conditions to find their road to recovery in order to live a fulfilling life.

 

Dr. Negar Beheshti is the chief medical officer for MiraVista Behavioral Health Center in Holyoke and its sister hospital, TaraVista Behavioral Health Center, in Devens. For more information on MiraVista’s psychiatric services, visit www.miravistabhc.care.

Social Isolation a Problem for Elderly

By Contributor
Opinion

Opinion

By Mary Flahive-Dickson

Seemingly, there is very little time for reflection these days. As we move from one news report, one Zoom meeting, one emergency to another, it is not lost on us that this is now our norm; life has changed. Restlessness is nationwide. Our communities are apprehensive at best, and our seniors are even more isolated now than any other historical time.

Social isolation, while defined as a lack of relationships and meaningful contact with society, needs to be further contemplated and gauged in our elder population as COVID-19 continues to force us to shelter in place, while begging for social and physical distance.

Caregivers, as catechized members of the front line, are being asked to rise to the challenge of defense against physical and social isolation of seniors.

Our elders are seemingly the target of so many evil pathogens and infections as their immunologic response has slowed and their physicality is compromised. Add life-changing risk factors such as retirement, death of loved ones, and the global nature of our society to the geriatric mix, and oftentimes the result assumes the form of social and physical isolation and loneliness.

Isolated and lonely seniors are at an increased risk for additional physical and emotional health conditions such as anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, and cognitive decline. With the loss of a sense of connectivity to the outside world and specifically their community, our elders run the risk of a decrease in wellness and a general decline in health.

Additionally, and especially in the current COVID-19 theatre, physical and emotional needs such as activities of daily living (ADL), companionship, and personal care may not be satisfied or executed. This situation is yet another nail in the proverbial coffin of enabling an immunologic response to infections, therefore rendering individuals less able to fight off disease, while increasing their risk of mortality.

Conversely, elders who engage with society, continue to be active and cognitively stimulated, have conversations, and have their ADLs satiated oftentimes experience increased positive influential health opportunities and many times are able to maintain the state of wellness longer.

Our role as caregivers is to facilitate an improvement or at least a maintenance of independence, health, and well-being of our elders. By providing for and assisting them with activities of daily living, promoting self-care, and reinforcing social support and a sense of community, caregivers continue to promote and disseminate multiple dimensions of physical and emotional health and wellness among this population.

As society continues to seesaw under the cloud of COVID-19, the senior population is not exempt from partaking in groups, programs, and activities which can help in thwarting physical and social isolation and loneliness. In fact, for the seniors, it is just the opposite. No populace has seen a furthering of isolation more than the seniors.

And, with home care widely accepted as a significant player in promotion of health and wellness, staving off mortality and reduction of admissions to institutional care such as hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities, caregivers’ roles should be touted as the front-line essential necessity they have always been, albeit unpronounced.

Mary Flahive-Dickson is chief operating officer for Golden Years Home Care Services.

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