The “pandemic” No One Is Preparing for…(Except for Us at Trinergy Health)…
We are all collectively coping with a crisis that is unprecedented in our lifetimes! Coronavirus has wreaked havoc in more than one aspect of our modern lives. Physical health, livelihoods, economy, mental health, etc. are all impacted from this virus.
As we collectively recover from this pandemic itself, we will be facing the aftermath – from rebuilding our lives to reshaping our collective and individual identities.
While the powers that be are still focused on the infection aspect of Covid 19, I am more concerned about the “tsunami of mental illness” that is going to wash up on our shores.
We are seeing early signs of this already. We are seeing increasing reports of mental health symptoms in the public as well as a sudden jump in new prescriptions for anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications (1, 2).
Some of the factors causing the next “pandemic” of mental illness are:
- Mental illness as a result of the economic devastation caused by this virus.
- Mental illness as a result of the impact of social distancing measures implemented – isolation, lack of access to social supports, etc.
- Mental illness arising from dealing with the direct consequences of the infection – from grief of losing a loved one or job, to survivor’s guilt.
- Mental illness (especially anxiety) from living through highly uncertain times.
- Mental health can be impacted as a direct result of the infection. We still do not know the neuro-psychiatric effects of this infection. But like me, if you ascribe to the “inflammation theory of most (if not all) mental illness”, then it is reasonable to expect that we will see an increase in almost all mental illnesses ranging from depression/anxiety to psychosis/bipolar. Interestingly, there are talks of this study (3) that is looking at the connection between Covid 19 caused inflammation and psychosis.
- ‘Deaths of despair’ i.e., deaths due to drug addiction, alcoholism or suicide has been steadily rising in the USA over the past decade. Covid 19 is predicted to be escalating this problem even more (4, 5).
- People with pre-existing mental health problems are at increased risk for worsening of symptoms.
- Finally, we must address the stress of being a frontline worker in this crisis. The trauma of being a first responder can also cause mental illness. Unfortunately, we already saw one physician suicide in the front lines…There are reports now of Covid 19 causing anxiety and depression in healthcare workers (6).
The good news is that, as a species, we are incredibly resilient. Like the mythical phoenix, we have risen from the ashes, time and again, and adapted to the changing scenarios. It is time for us to do it again – collectively and individually.
This study published in Feb 2019 (7) found that only 12% of Americans over the age of 20 are metabolically healthy. Metabolic health was defined as having optimum “numbers” for waist circumference, blood glucose level, blood pressure and fats in the blood. We are also seeing that Covid 19 adversely affects people with poor metabolic health. Guess, what other conditions are associated with poor metabolic health? Yes, mental illness from depression to dementia.
Yet again, we are seeing that there is no short cut, no magic pill to creating health.
Diet and lifestyle are the two main factors contributing to our mind-body health.
As I have said before, Covid 19 crisis is like a reckoning for us all…it is making us reevaluate many aspects of our modern life – the “busyness” we thrived on, the disconnection from nature, the disconnection from natural rhythms of life processes (erratic sleep wake cycle etc.). Nature hit the pause button for us. Let’s take this opportunity to rebuild our lives in a manner that it brings us more joy, more connection, more health and happiness.
Maybe, now is the time for you to work towards creating health and wellbeing in every sense of the word…because, your mental (or physical) illness cannot and does have to wait for the pandemic to be over!
Here is how we create health for our clients….and you can too! (check out our testimonials page…)
We address the root cause of ANY illness (physical or mental): Stress, Diet (nutrition), Allergens, Microbes (infection as well as microbiome health) and toxins. The final common pathway for these causative agents to create disease is through inflammation. To create health, we “remove the bad” and “provide the good” – nutrients for repair and regeneration, reduce inflammation and enhance detoxification pathways. We use time tested, safe, side effect free interventions – “food as medicine”, nutritional supplements, herbal supplements, lifestyle guidance, stress reduction techniques, massage therapy, herbal steam sauna therapy for detox, etc.; to effect the changes we want to create.
We are here for you….
To help our community with the anticipated mental illness tsunami, we are offering comprehensive, affordable, mind-body medicine and healing programs to help you find health and wellness again! If you are struggling with financial problems from Covid 19 crisis, please let us know as we can customize our programs to meet all needs.
The good news is that, our programs will not only help your mental well-being, but it will also enhance your overall health and immunity!
This is the beauty and wonder of ‘holistic’ medicine! You do not have to take a medicine for depression, another for anxiety, one more for acid reflux, yet another one for diabetes, and so on….To top it all, all this healing can begin to happen in as little as 2-3 weeks…. that is all it takes to begin the reversal of chronic disease in our bodies.
If you are interested in improving your metabolic health, we can help here too through Ayurveda!
References:
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/geekgirlrising/2020/04/06/half-of-americans-say-covid-19-is-hurting-their-mental-health-new-poll-shows/#7df4d4fc351e
- https://www.express-scripts.com/corporate/americas-state-of-mind-report
- https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930224?nlid=135558_329&src=WNL_mdplsnews_200515_mscpedit_psyc&uac=282539EV&spon=12&impID=2382848&faf=1#vp_2
- https://wellbeingtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WBT_Deaths-of-Despair_COVID-19-FINAL-FINAL.pdf
- https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/930183?nlid=135558_329&src=WNL_mdplsnews_200515_mscpedit_psyc&uac=282539EV&spon=12&impID=2382848&faf=1
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7175897/
- https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/met.2018.0105
At Trinergy Health, we’re here for you. We offer mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples, as well as in-clinic Ayurvedic therapies to help our patients. Find out more by calling us at (262) 955-6600 or (262) 955-6601, or schedule a time to talk.