Mental Stress in a time of Coronavirus

It’s difficult sometimes to see and understand both the long- and short-term views of just about any issue. Normally, the near future is much easier to see while the long term is fogged with the mist of the unknown. With Covid-related issues, this is never been more true for me.

Consider what’s going on with our health workers. Champions and heroes, each and every one of them. In the short term, we’re beginning to see and hear some of the stress and mental anguish of working day after day in very hazardous situations. While nearly all of them signed up for “tough duty,” I’m not sure any of them ever imagined this kind of scenario.

The same is true of our teachers. With two young children, while I absolutely marvel at the dedication, I do sense more and more strain for teachers as they try to balance the need for education with safety. This is obviously causing stress beyond what anyone could’ve imagined.

And you can add parents, business owners, students, and nearly anyone else into similar conversations.

While the short term is easier to see, I’m beginning to worry more and more about the unforeseen long-term consequences of so much strain and stress. With an already growing shortage of frontline healthcare workers even before COVID-19, how does Coronavirus effect having enough nurses, caretechs, and physicians in rural areas? How does a current now 10-month battle with a global pandemic affect teachers as they determine whether to continue in the industry or make a career change?

And for me personally, what effect does this have on my children?

I don’t have any of the answers, but it might be smart to begin talking about these things more as a vaccine becomes available. As it relates to COVID-19, our short-term view may be creating and distributing a vaccine while we work to understand the long-term mental challenges over the next decade or two.