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The year 2020 was supposed to be a year of vision: 20/20, wasn't it? Do you remember what you thought and felt when everything changed in March of that year? How did you feel when you were told you had to wear masks in public and not go out unless it was absolutely necessary? Then, as masks have been shed in 2022, how have you felt about venturing out maskless that first time?
I went to the funeral home this week to offer condolences to a friend whose wife passed away suddenly late last week. I turned and came eye to eye with my late uncle's wife. I had not seen my aunt since my uncle passed away. She wore a mask, so I wasn't sure, but when I said her name, I saw light of recognition in her eyes. It was so good to see someone from my parents' generation. There are so few of them still living.
"How are you?" I asked.
"Better now," she said. I didn't know she had been sick. "I had that covid. I don't want that again." She hates the masks, she said. The masks make her glasses steam up.
There are many points to take away from our brief exchange, a moment in time I hope never to forget, to treasure it always. Today, let's talk about the anxiety that has resulted from two years of a health war that is not quite over, a war that has us still struggling with the trauma it has caused. Look at a few headlines from the past week:
• Addressing the pandemic's mental health fallout - CBS News
• No shame in seeking help amid the pandemic - Findlay Courier
• Mental health help is a growing need - Toledo Blade
• For some teens, as masks come off, anxiety sets in - New York Times editorial
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) advises about the impact of emotional and mental issues caused by covid, those feelings of isolation, loneliness, growing stress and anxiety, the need for everyone to become more resilient, to bounce back into the game despite the challenges and obstacles we face.
This morning the village's fire siren went off. My 6-year-old grandson climbed into my lap because it was so loud it frightened him. He knows what it means. One of his uncles is a firefighter, has shown him the trucks and equipment at the fire station. This child has had firetrucks with sirens since he was old enough to push them across the floor. He can tell you in no uncertain terms that the fire siren is an alert to everyone, that the firefighters with their trucks are being called out for an emergency and to make way for them so they can take care of the emergency. But the siren was loud.
And then he was OK. We talked about it. He got down, back onto his feet, and went back to doing all the things a 6-year-old does in the morning when he is getting ready for school. Resilient.
You, as an adult, might think it's silly for a child to be afraid of a loud siren, a loud noise. How recently have you nearly jumped out of your skin when a loud rumble of thunder unexpectedly shook the structure around you? The siren may not be scary to an adult. To that little child, the problems you are struggling with, adult issues, are beyond their understanding. They lack the experience, the knowledge, the wisdom adults have gained over the course of their lifetimes, the life lessons that have taught grownups how to cope, to plan ahead, to understand fear and anxiety and put it in its place so you can recover quickly from your difficulties ... Resilience.
Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties, like elastic snapping back into shape when it has been stretched. It isn't easy to conquer fear. But you can. And you can teach your children to conquer it, too.
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Addiction has no address, but Family Recovery Center does. For more information about the education, prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse and related behavioral issues, contact the agency at 964 N. Market St., Lisbon; phone, 330-424-1468; or email, info@familyrecovery.org. Visit the website at familyrecovery.org. FRC is funded in part by Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.