All,
I know it’s been a crazy time for many of you, especially the ones working in essential businesses. My prayers are with you and your families, and I hope we’ll soon see the light through all this.
As surgeries are postponed and patients left in critical condition, we will likely see an increase in opioid use in our community. For many, feelings of anxiety and depression come from the uncertainty and isolation brought on by the virus. I believe now is the time to take advantage of our Task Force and provide coping services to those in need. We need to consistently be thinking of ways to move forward with our messaging: education, prevention and intervention.
We can begin by sharing tools on pain management and mental health through news media and social media. Paul Thurman our Communications Chair, alongside Crosswind Media and Public Relations will work together to create a webpage and social media accounts for the Task Force. We can use these tools to immediately begin sharing vital information to the community.
Last month, I sent around a questionnaire provided by Crosswind that needed to be filled out. All information was collected and used to conduct a communications audit that will help us understand and evaluate which communication strategies perform well on current social channels, and recommended tools to effectively communicate with our audience. If you didn’t receive a questionnaire, please view here and send to [email protected] by next Tuesday, March 31.
Dr. Vanila Singh is expected to be in Corpus Christi April 17 for our meeting to discuss mental health and COVID-19. I will provide more details in the next newsletter along with an update on our social channels and webpage.
How to Cope during COVID-19
- Take breaks from watching, listening, or reading news stories, including social media. Constantly hearing about the pandemic can draw in negativity.
- Meditate, exercise and sleep. With more free time on your hands, allow your body to relax.
- Use this time to do activities you enjoy that doesn’t go against your city’s order. Some examples include cooking, catching up on your favorite tv shows, spending time with your kids, or painting.
- Connect or re-connect with friends or family that you can trust and talk to about your concerns.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/39mmIKy
If you have additional thoughts on how our community can best cope with covid, please share them here and with our community. I ask that you all share these tips on your social accounts to help those who are struggling with stress and anxiety and need resources to help them during this pandemic.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Stay positive. Stay safe. Stay blessed.
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