February 11th, 2021
By Phyllis Hanlon
Approximately nine months after the COVID-19 virus was identified in the United States, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched StrengthenME, an initiative designed to provide coping mechanisms for pandemic-related stress and anxiety before it becomes a more serious mental health issue. According to Jessica Pollard, Ph.D, director of the Maine DHHS Office of Behavioral Health, the state recognized the need for mental health supports and immediately looked to expand existing services, such as the Intentional Peer Warm Line. “We also launched new services, such as the Maine Frontline Warmline to support health care staff and first responders, [More]
Tags: anxiety, coping, stress, COVID-19, pandemic, StrengthenME
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December 7th, 2020
By Catherine Robertson Souter
To say this has been a trying year for humans is to put it mildly. Everything has been thrown up into the air. From fears of a loved one getting sick to the stress of financial or housing instabilities, to the overarching political and social turmoil, 2020 will go down as a year that showed us all what we are made of. For parents, add keeping kids of all ages on task with school work, arguing with teens about what constitutes safe behavior, and becoming a de facto entertainment director for the cruise ships we call home, and it’s no [More]
Tags: psychologists, social issues, parents, stress, pandemic, advice, school work, family
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October 6th, 2020
By Catherine Robertson Souter
For those with an eating disorder, isolation, loneliness, anxiety, and stress can be major contributing factors. And of course, what are the major factors we all face during a pandemic and related shutdown? Isolation, loneliness, anxiety and stress. A recent study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders shows that, across the board, those dealing with eating disorders have reported increased symptoms and concerns about the effects of the current situation on their mental health. “People with eating disorders,” said Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D, co-author of the study and the founding director of the University of North Carolina Center of [More]
Tags: anxiety, isolation, loneliness, stress, eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorders
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July 14th, 2020
By Phyllis Hanlon
To date, the COVID-19 virus has exacted a tremendous toll on the nation’s economy, uncovered serious flaws in the health care systems, brought long-standing systemic racism to the forefront, and disrupted everyday life. Of paramount importance are the potential long-term effects on psychological well-being. The New England states are taking measures to help ameliorate any adverse effects once the pandemic begins to wane. According to Jessica Pollard, Ph.D, director of Maine’s Office of Behavioral Health, her state has operated a number of crisis phone lines for several years. In response to COVID-19 , Maine set up a “Warmline,” a resource [More]
Tags: racism, Mental health, stress, COVID-19, panedemic, economy, psychological well-being
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January 5th, 2020
By Susan Gonsalves
Healthcare, mass shootings and the 2020 election are among the top stressors for Americans according to a survey by the American Psychological Association. Between August 1 and Sept. 2, 2019, the poll asked 3,617 adults to rate their level of stress as well as identify a variety of potential sources. Concerns about healthcare significantly affect about seven in 10 adults. More than half (64 percent) acknowledge that healthcare is stressing them out as least “sometimes.” Individuals with private insurance (71 percent) are more likely than those with public insurance (53 percent) to cite it as a stressor. Additionally, 55 percent [More]
Tags: Mental health, anxiety, healthcare, stress, mass shootings, Dr. Lynn Bufka
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March 25th, 2019
By Susan Gonsalves
Generation Z, individuals ages 15 to 21, feel stressed out about ripped-from-the- headlines topics like school and mass shootings, sexual assault, and immigration according to the annual Stress in America™ survey by the American Psychological Association. The Harris Poll was conducted last summer online among 3,458 adults and 300 15 to 17-year-olds in all 50 states. Although 75 percent of Gen Z members found mass shootings `significantly’ stressful and 72 percent felt that way about school shootings, those kids of voting age were least likely to vote at 54 percent. The overall average had seven in 10 adults expecting to [More]
Tags: Mental health, school shooting, anxiety, Generation Z, stress, Stress in America survey, migrant families
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