Mental Health Cases and Covid-19

Women sharing in conversation

MENTAL HEALTH CASES SKY-ROCKET SINCE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

What can you do to help yourself?

First of all, You must acknowledge that the virus touched everyone on planet Earth.

The Mental Health Community is unable to address the increased volume of mental ailments caused by the Pandemic, at least in the near future.

PTSD symptoms such as depression, anger, high anxiety & others have increased, causing more suicides, as well.

Since not enough help is available by the Mental Health Communities, I recommend we take 3 simple steps ourselves to prevent these mental, emotional, or spiritual health issues from taking root in our bodies.

Here are 3 healing steps which worked in my PTSD Recovery:

STEP 1

The moment negative feelings come up, share and express them. “Revealing is healing” is a mental health motto.

Choose someone you trust. It can be a family member or close friend.  Even though one may have Covid-19 or even perceive the Pandemic from a distance, all of us experience some trauma symptoms.

STEP 2

In case you have no one to talk to start a FEELING JOURNAL right away.

Journal your feelingsFor example, start writing, “Today, when I saw a young nurse, mother of three, pass on to the other side from the Virus, I was filled with sadness.”  You may have actually had tears rolling down your cheeks or were choking on them.

Write down how that felt.

  • Did it remind you of the loss of someone in your family?
  • Or were you feeling fear of your own death.
  • How terrible for you.
  • You must acknowledge every detail.

STEP 3

This is my favorite method.

Another approach is to have a dialogue with your Inner Self to acknowledge that your event was traumatic for you.

  • “Dear ____,(use your name)  you had a good reason to be upset.”
    Pause a moment. Let the feelings come up.
    Feel your feelings.
    You may hear an Inner Voice Answer.
    WRITE IT DOWN.
  • The inner voice may be saying something like, “WOW. I am glad I am recognizing this upset. I feel relief and not so upset anymore. Thanks.”
  • Write as much as you like, then stop.
    See how you feel the next day.
    Make another short “How I AM FEELING RIGHT NOW” journal entry.
  • Keep doing this until the event isn’t getting you down anymore.
  • Try rating the pain each day. I usually rate the pain from 1-10, 10 being the highest.
    When the number is lowered to 1, we have been successful with our self-healing.

OTHER PTSD SYMPTOMS

  1. We often project our anger at others when we don’t do our feeling work.
    (I was accused of being a “snapping turtle” years ago before counseling.)
  2. We may also be triggered to remember specific childhood maltreatment.

Again, these issues can be released by repeating Step1,2, or 3. Most issues can be healed with this process.

THE STEPS MUST BE DONE IMMEDIATELY as soon as you become aware of them.
This allows you to start healing your painful wounds sooner than later and you will be much happier in the future.

If you wish to have a conversation with me, please contact me. Start with an email. Bettina [@] BettinaSparkles.com

OVERCOME THE STIGMA of -PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Hi friends.

Let’s get over “what other people think about us” as we cope with life and search for happiness.  Victims of trauma must put “Stigma” on the backburner to heal.  It’s important for us to acknowledge our struggles, process them, so we can move on and live in peace.

Not so long ago actions and reactions were cause for us to be labeled “crazies” and material for mental institutions.  Even during my career I worried that if the company found out much about my mental turbulence, I would get fired.   But, there’s been a big shift!

Thankfully, The Mental Health Community has acknowledged PTSD, as a mental disorder which requires urgent care.  Professionals agree that if feelings of traumas are not expressed and let go within a year, PTSD may develop.

People who experience any kind of TRAUMA- such as bullying, accidents, shootings, natural disasters, death, severe physical illnesses, divorces, rape, abortions, and loss of houses, child abuse, terrorism or war-MUST DEAL WITH THE EVENT IMMEDIATELY- NO MATTER WHAT THE CAUSE.

Right afterwards, we must acknowledge that something horrific happened to us and that our reactions are normal. We may be in shock, scream, and cry IT’S ALL OK.  It’s important to talk to friends or professional and express our feelings.

Please know that if we don’t release hurtful feelings within 1 year, PTSD develops.  We start to have a very negative outlook about ourselves, our life and the world, in general.  This is no way to live.

Why let “Stigma” go?  It is to save our lives.  When we find our struggles are so unbearable we must find help. Here’s a glimpse of my life, of how I suffered and what finally worked for me.

On the outside, I wore a “Smiley Mask” and seemed to function OK in life and my beloved flight attendant career. On the inside I suffered from “unaware” Child Abuse PTSD until age 50.  All my life I felt inner chaos, fear of people, unworthy, unwanted and unloved, all alone, helpless and hopeless. I began “Looking for Love in all the wrong places,” outside of me and medicated the pain with alcohol.

During that dark time I got divorced and felt like a total failure.  I placed blame on everyone but me.  I even blamed God and put “the punishing God” on the backburner for 20 years.  The action made life even more miserable.

I’ll never forget how my dear friend, Linda, came to the rescue and caused me to have a “wake-up call” when I was 45.  She knew I didn’t have a relationship with God.  Hesitantly, she told me that she was once in the same place as I was.  She said, “A friend gave me a Daily Prayer booklet which changed my life, and now I’d like to do the same for you.”

Linda stuck a daily devotional pamphlet into my purse.  She suggested I read one page a day. I did.  Every day I was infused with hope and love.  I did this for 5 years and made many life-style changes.

Most importantly my mind was opened to an all-loving God.  When I had Child Abuse Recall God helped me seek a therapist and face the pain of my childhood.  PTSD Recovery deepened my spiritual journey for the last 30 years.

Set Your PTSD Free and live in Harmony!