Mental Health Worthy Warriors Need to Take Care of Themselves

I was wondering why I was so tired. I usually get 7-8 hours of sleep which is restorative. But the other night, I slept 10 hours!

IT WAS HEAVENLY!!!

The day before my friends, Linda and Mark asked if I wanted to go sailing. I didn’t think this would happen this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the unusually warm October weather made it possible.

“OH BOY: WOULD I!!

Mark’s catamaran, the thirty-four foot “Deuce of Hearts” is tied up at a marina on City Island in the Bronx.

Yes, that Bronx!

City Island is a small oasis that sits on Eastchester Bay which empties into Long Island Sound near the Throgs Neck Bridge. I get to pilot the boat, like Gilligan, but we also get back with no problem, unlike The Captain, Ginger, and Mary Ann.

When the wind catches the sails, the boat feels as it if lifts out of the water. Saturday, the water was calm, the balmy west wind was steady and the sky severe clear. You are fully in the moment when you sail but still so relaxed. Christopher Cross yacht rock time!!

I really appreciate being with friends like Mark and Linda. My wife, Jayne and I look at any opportunity to be on the water as a special moment. Worthy as a small celebration of life.

Also, you get to witness magnificent sunsets and the Manhattan skyline like this.

My assistant, Denise has been tracking my appointments during the past year. I knew I worked many hours, but I was surprised that I did 2,561 appointments, averaging fifty-one sessions a week. I take each session one at a time. I start at 9am and go until about 11pm.

At 69, it’s a lot. Regardless of any age, it’s a lot.

My story is far from unique. Back in January, Jessica Gold wrote a piece in Forbes about the pandemic mental health crisis of therapist burnout. Any mental health warrior knows all too well that with the COVID-19 pandemic, the tsunami for demand of behavioral health has just exploded. There was already a shortage of practitioners: psychologists, social workers, professional mental health counselors, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurse practitioners.

I receive at least three calls a day from people looking for help. They hear the outgoing message advising that the practice is full and hang up. Some beg to be put on a nonexistent waiting list. It’s an awful feeling for both parties. Heartbreaking.

I agree with Dr. Jessica Stern, a clinical psychologist cited in the Forbes article that we’re seeing increased suicidal thinking with our people as well as more severe presentations. I’m seeing long term COVID-19 patients show up with depression and anxiety that are not fully responding to traditional treatment regimens.

The Worthy Warriors who fight mental illness with our people are burning out much like the front-line medical staff at hospitals without the verbal abuse.

Brit Barkholtz in the Forbes piece said it well. “I’m not sure if it’s burning out. I don’t really know where the line is between stress, exhaustion, burnout whatever. But everyone’s stressed and exhausted right now, you know?”

Mental health treatment Worthy Warriors are faced with the conundrum of taking care of themselves and doing less hours, knowing the public health/societal impacts. We are people who give of ourselves and for most of us, our work is a calling.

Until the massive problems in our health care system are addressed (most likely many years from now, if at all), we must take care of ourselves so we can help our people, the best we can.

There has been a significant federal investment in mental health treatment, including incentives for  young people to enter the profession. It takes an average of 8+ years of training to become a licensed mental health professional. Until then for us, it’s more of the same.

So that’s why sailing, writing, music, travel, and friends are so important to me. These keep me going.

If you are a Worthy Warrior in health care or working in behavioral health treatment, make sure you do something to get out of your head and have some much-needed fun. Its not a luxury but a necessity.

Also make sure your taking care of your health. I have gained 33 lbs during the pandemic from sitting, stress eating, and not much exercise. (I started working with a trainer only once a week. It’s a start.) Get your check ups when you can and please keep up your mask where needed. Don’t forget handwashing as the CDC advises.

Please, please, please be good to yourself. We all need to stay well together.