Letter From the Editor: Social Distancing Starves Some Diseases, While Feeding Others

Illustration by Carolyn Burt

We are currently living in a world under siege. We have been thrust into a war against an enemy that hides in plain sight.

To state the obvious, coronavirus has troops stationed all across the globe. Most of us have found our lives at a standstill, left with no choice but to hope that those on the frontlines are well-trained and well-equipped. However, of the millions of United States citizens following orders to barricade themselves within the confines of their own homes, many are currently fighting their own individual battles; in fact, they already were well before we came into a global pandemic.

I’m talking about battles with mental illness. Some are more familiar with these types of battles than others, but this enemy has grown in strength since teaming up with COVID-19.

Though people with mental illness all have their individual list of triggers, as well as their own toolbox for how to best deal with being provoked, isolation is a pretty common instigator. This is because mental illness is mental; it consists of a constant internal dialogue with yourself, and can cause you to spend a lot of time in your own head.

Self-isolation isn’t comfortable for most people, but for those with mental illness, the thought of isolation can be much more than a thought. It is a threat. It is a personified beast with intentions to inflict terror and suffering onto its victims.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), their Disaster Distress Helpline saw an 891 percent increase in call volume this past March compared to March of 2019. Another equally alarming statistic from SAMHSA shows that March saw 338 percent more calls than February, according to a SAMHSA spokesperson.

So, where do we find hope? How much comfort can the overused slogan “take it one day at a time” offer before we’ve exhausted it? In times of national crisis, we are trained to look toward our country’s leadership for guidance. Our current administration doesn’t have the greatest track record with understanding of mental health, and recent statements about COVID-19’s impact on the minds of Americans are fairly on-theme with past comments.

In a press briefing almost exactly a month ago today -- March 24 -- President Trump announced that “you’re going to lose a number of people to the flu, but you’re going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession or depression… You’re going to have suicides by the thousands. You’re going to have all sorts of things happen.”

Throughout the remainder of this speech, as well as during speeches in the weeks to come, the president used predicted declines in mental health as means to bolster his desires to re-open the economy as soon as possible.

I can’t speak for everyone on this, but I know that his words did nothing to make me more hopeful about the current state of my mental health. I am one of roughly 42 million adults in the United States with clinically-diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder.

There are 57.8 million Americans currently living with mental or substance use disorders, according to SAMHSA.

Instead of allowing Trump’s remarks to instigate fear or shame, I am choosing to see this time as an opportunity. Although we are isolated from one another physically, we can still connect mentally and support ourselves and one another in this time of need.

Different organizations are offering free virtual support groups for those who need more soldiers in their armies, such as the National Eating Disorders Association, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous. Links to these sessions will be provided on The Corsair website.

We can band together to fight off the enemies lurking within our own homes, within our own minds, regardless of what our leadership has planned for the coming months.