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The Crisis Within the Crisis
Why mental health must become a top priority
The list of anxiety-producing issues facing so many Americans this spring seems endless. Sudden joblessness and an extreme lack of potential job opportunities at a time when unemployment is sky high and employers are cutting back on all fronts. Health concerns. Fear of the unknown. Loss of structure. Family tensions. Lack of human contact. The inability to put food on the table. The inability to pay for medications. Loss of routine healthcare visits. Lack of childcare. Lack of dependable support systems. And grief. For a friend or family member (or more than one in many cases) felled by a mysterious disease. For the tens of thousands of Americans whose lives have been suddenly cut short in such a short period of time — and for the loved ones left behind. It’s all incredibly heartbreaking and bewildering. And for the 1 in 5 Americans of all ages with mental illness, a crisis like the one we’re collectively experiencing can lead to a very personal, painful crisis with no apparent way out.
The fact that life seems to go on for so many despite such personal pain only adds to the confusion. A year ago this month, a student at my daughter’s high school shot and killed another student, one of my daughter’s classmates in their small school’s graduating class. Even though my daughter was not at school at…
