'Frustration and anxiety': Therapists see spike in new clients as COVID-19 pandemic worsens
More and more people are seeking out help from therapists as COVID-19 infections continue to climb at an alarming rate.
Catherine Clevenger, a licensed clinical social worker in Savannah, Georgia, said her office saw about 300 new clients last year.
"We're only halfway through this year and we've already seen more than that," she said.
Therapists said, at the moment, many people are experiencing feelings of hopelessness, frustration and anxiety.
"You're seeing an increase in the number of people not knowing what to do and not knowing when to worry," said Mary Jo Horton, the manager of therapy at Memorial Health's Behavioral Health Services in Savannah.
That's not all though. Therapists say substance abuse is also a major problem right now.
"During the pandemic, there were a lot less in-person services and interventions for people who have addiction issues, so you're going to see a rise in addiction," Horton said.
Some patients have been ending up in the hospital, particularly those with anxiety.
"A panic attack comes on quickly and it can make you feel like you can breathe or you맥스카지노re having a heart attack. If you have not gone that far in anxiety up to that point, they don맥스카지노t know what it is, so they end up in the emergency room," Clevenger explained.
We asked when people should consider reaching out to a therapist for help. Horton said, "We all have anxiety. We can all go through periods of sadness. We can all go through periods of frustration or being scared, but when those feelings impair our ability to enjoy things, to sleep, to connect to others, to work, then that맥스카지노s the time for us to go get help."
Some other things you can do to improve your mental health aside from going to therapy include getting outside, exercising, getting enough sleep and checking in with yourself as a whole.
Horton said, "Really taking stock of: Are we taking care of ourselves? Are we sleeping? Are we on the screen too much? What are we putting inside our body? Are we engaged in healthy connection? Are we drinking too much? Are we doing we things we know are going to promote our well-being?"