More Texans are returning to the office this spring after working from home for more than a year, which can trigger bouts of anxiety and stress. The experts have some tips for a smoother transition to the office.

Talli Dolge, CEO of the San Antonio Mobile Mental Wellness Collaborative and senior vice president of school and community partnerships for the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, said a good place to start is your own personal “inventory.” Ask yourself how you feel about the work you are doing and if you get the support you need from your superiors when you are not feeling well.

“We’re in an environment where everyone has accepted that mental health is changing in our society,” Dolge pointed out. “Workplaces need to learn to adapt to this and be able to plan and create programs that would help support mental health.”

Dolge noted that feeling supported is an important key when it comes to mental health issues. She added that a person should never blame themselves for feeling stress, anxiety or depression. You’re not alone. Everyone has experienced trauma in the past two years. Some experts advise finding someone you trust at work or going to therapy.

Dolge suggested another approach is to give yourself grace and talk to yourself in a positive way.

“Saying things like, ‘I can get through this,’ or ‘It’s just a period of time, and then I can find something else that’s going to make me feel better after work,'” Dolge advised. .

She recommended eating healthy foods, getting eight hours of sleep at night and exercising at least three days a week.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many people with mental disorders also need care for physical health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and respiratory disease. Treatment costs for people with both mental and physical health problems are two to three times higher than those who do not have them at the same time.

And Dolge pointed out that if you’re dreading going to work, unable to do things you once loved, or feeling “examined,” it might be time to seek help or even find another workplace.

“Our sanity is our health,” she said.

It can be reassuring to know what your company is doing to protect the office from the spread of COVID, including its policy on mental health days. Dolge recommended trying a calming app on your phone. Many offer mindfulness and meditation exercises, as well as access to peer groups and therapy services.

get more stories like this via email

COVID cases are down across much of the United States, but the lingering effects of the pandemic are growing. Minnesota school social workers point to student mental health demands and hope lawmakers will respond.

Social workers team up with nurses and psychologists to help students deal with stress and anxiety. In an ACLU report, Minnesota is among many states that do not meet recommended student-to-staff ratios for each role.

Sherry Murphy, a social worker for East Grand Forks Public Schools, said her district is understaffed in this area, which is a major concern in the current environment.

“The referrals keep coming in, you know, the challenges are there,” Murphy observed. “There is a cry from our school educators, who say, ‘Our students need support. We need to help our children with their social, emotional and mental health needs. “”

In a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44% of high school students said they felt constantly sad or hopeless in the past year.

Murphy also leads the Minnesota School Social Workers Association, which is asking the Legislature to approve a bill that would dedicate funds to bolster support staff. While the state has a large budget surplus, Democrats and Republicans appear far apart on school funding plans.

Christy McCoy, social worker for St. Paul Public Schools, believes there is room for bipartisanship. Since support staff are included in general funding, districts choose between hiring teachers and social workers. She is confident that the bill would reduce these difficult staffing choices.

“It’s really about addressing the shortages,” McCoy said. “And it’s about making sure that student support services staff serve within their training and practice, and really, integrating the learning models, the teaching, the management of school, etc.”

Kate Adams, district family resource coordinator for Farmington area schools, said while student mental health was a concern before the pandemic, she said they are addressing current needs on a much larger scale. .

“It takes a lot more personnel and effort, training and preparation,” Adams pointed out.

get more stories like this via email

Social workers raise awareness of new mobile crisis centers and an Access Point call center that now provides 24/7 call, chat or community services to Granite Staters facing a crisis of Mental Health.

New Hampshire’s mental health services have experienced staffing shortages in recent years, resulting in days of emergency room crisis waits for placement.

Becky Parton, project director for the Dartmouth Trauma Interventions Research Center and a member of the National Association of Social Workers, said the new mobile centers, also known as rapid response teams, seek to directly connect people in care. She said some people may only need one call with a clinician to help defuse their situation, while others will still need to go to the emergency room for hospital care.

“But there are other levels of care that we can provide, which is one of the great things about it,” Parton said. “Ultimately, the goal is to stop people waiting in the emergency room when they don’t have to and to be able to serve them in the community.”

The Rapid Response Access Point can be reached at 833-710-6477 or residents can visit nh988.com to chat with trained professionals. Parton noted that this was part of a national effort.

New Hampshire’s 10-Year Mental Health Plan put these mobile crisis centers into action and also expanded mental health services for children in the state.

Parton hopes the hotspot can be an alternative to calling the police. She pointed out that people facing mental health crises are more likely to experience police brutality and that police are not always well trained in de-escalation.

“They can assume criminal intent, instead of being able to defuse someone and figure out if there’s a mental health reason they needed to be called,” Parton explained. “So the goal would be that, in the long term, we’ve reduced the need for police assistance unless there’s a real security issue.”

She added that groups provide training to law enforcement to help them improve.

Parton pointed out that while these rapid response teams are a great addition to the services available, many community organizations and agencies that facilitate them are still struggling to retain staff. She stressed that recruitment and retention support is needed.

“It’s unfortunate, but we don’t have good reimbursement rates for providers,” Parton argued. “We need to have better salaries in general, which would help retain more staff. Community health centers already do not have enough public funding to properly run the programs they are responsible for supporting. ”

get more stories like this via email

With COVID cases dwindling, more employers are asking workers to return to the office for the first time since the pandemic began, and mental health professionals have said there are ways to manage the stress and anxiety of this big change.

Rates of anxiety and depression among American adults were four times higher between April 2020 and August 2021 than they were in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr Hillary Ammon, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, said a change in routine, like where you work, can be stressful, but there are ways to deal with those feelings. .

“What I would recommend is that people start trying to get into some of these routines that might feel like the workplace,” Ammon advised. “So if that’s really the case, you know, you have a very structured workday and you’ve had more flexibility working from home, can you try to structure your day to be more like this working environment ?”

Ammon suggested practicing driving or taking public transportation to make your return to work easier, as well as meal planning and preparation.

Dr. Nicole Brady, UnitedHealthcare’s chief employer and individual business physician in Wisconsin and Michigan, said fears of catching COVID in the office can also be a trigger for stress. She urged having an open line of communication with your employer about the protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We all know that masks are effective and are certainly reasonable at all times, regardless of the levels in your community at the time,” Brady pointed out. “We know that vaccines are very effective in preventing infection.”

Other tips include suggesting staggered working hours or days to your manager, to limit the number of people in the office at the same time. The CDC recommends employees with symptoms of COVID notify their supervisors, get tested, and stay home until they feel better.

get more stories like this via email