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Seasonal strain: Dealing with the winter blues

There’s no question that the pandemic has spiked everyone’s stress level. Millions of people have lost jobs. Parents are struggling to balance work lives with kids’ remote learning. Many have been stuck inside their homes for months, away from loved ones. And on top of all of that, coronavirus cases and deaths continue to increase every day.

According to local mental health experts, this upcoming winter will bring a whole new layer of stress.

While many have been able to safely do activities outdoors during the summer and fall, “in the cold months people tend to stay inside more,” says Varinia Garcia Anderson, a licensed professional counselor at The Women’s Initiative. “People can’t get out…and that’s a lot of pressure on the system of your well-being.”

Being stuck inside can have a significant impact on mood and behavior, even in normal winters, explains Anderson. It can decrease motivation and energy, making it challenging to get anything done, as well as increase feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Winter also means fewer hours of daylight, which has real consequences for mental health. Sunlight triggers the release of mood-boosting serotonin in the brain, meaning short, dark days are hard for everyone, says licensed clinical social worker Eboni Bugg, who practices in the Charlottesville area.

To get through this stressful season, Bugg encourages everyone to safely spend time outside as much as possible during the day, which helps the body to produce vitamin D, boosting our mood and immune system.

For people of color, getting sun may not be enough to maintain healthy vitamin D levels, explains Bugg.

“For Black and brown people, I encourage folks to check with their physician and check their vitamin D level,” she says. “Because our melanin protects us from the sun, it also limits our capacity to manufacture vitamin D in our skin.”

When it’s not possible to go outside, it’s important to find ways to exercise every day, which naturally helps fight depression.

Regularly indulging in activities “that make you feel good” can also help to relieve winter stress, such as listening to music, reading, cooking, and watching movies, says Anderson.

Though it can be difficult during this time, try to “maintain hope [by] cultivating a practice of gratitude,” adds licensed clinical social worker Joanna Jennings. “Really think about the small things in life that bring you joy or peace, sometimes even writing them out.”

Getting a pet can help too. “Finding something else to care about sometimes can really refocus your energy,” says Bugg.

Most importantly, people should prioritize staying connected with family and friends, and being there for each other through this difficult winter, say all three therapists.

“COVID has really increased disconnection amongst us, but there are still ways we can facilitate connections that are safe,” says Jennings.

Keeping in touch is also the best way to support a family member or friend who is under a lot of stress. That might mean a regularly scheduled phone or video chat, or a socially distanced activity together, preferably outdoors.

“For people who have a loved one who may be suffering, sometimes the concern is that you have to be an expert [and] help them fix it,” says Bugg. “The reality is that most people really just need someone to see them, listen without judgment, and love them unconditionally.”

Of course, these simple practices might not be enough to relieve stress or other mental health struggles.

According to mental health experts, you may be in need of professional help if you experience drastic changes in appetite, sleeping patterns, and energy levels for more than two weeks. Overwhelming anxiety and sadness, feelings of withdrawal, and acts of self-harm are also major causes for concern.

“If a person is really noticing a change…it’s never too early to reach out to a professional,” Jennings stresses. “Oftentimes we are able to catch something early and put supports in place to prevent it from escalating to a serious mental health condition, or to the point of a crisis.”

Free and affordable mental health care is available through multiple community providers, including Region Ten, The Women’s Initiative, Charlottesville Free Clinic, On Our Own, Central Virginia Clinicians of Color Network, and Partner for Mental Health.

The Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition—a network of health organizations in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties—will also be offering no-cost support groups and events online during the holiday season.

“There are people who are really here to support those who need help, [regardless] of money,” says Anderson. “You are not alone.”

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Trauma, on top of trauma: Police violence takes increasing toll on black mental health

C-VILLE requested a statement on Katrina Turner’s allegations from the Charlottesville Police Department on Tuesday morning, and CPD responded with a statement from Chief RaShall Brackney shortly after C-VILLE went to press. The statement has been attached.

When Myra Anderson saw the video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, ultimately killing him, she could not help but play it in her head over and over again. Now, she almost wishes she had never watched it.

“It just hurt me to my heart,” says Anderson, who is a black mental health advocate and peer support specialist. “There’s no way you can’t be affected by seeing somebody that looks your same skin color on TV, that’s not armed, and doesn’t appear to be doing anything [be killed]. It’s traumatizing deep deep down…It carries the weight of all of the other historical injustices and trauma that happened before.”

The violent murders of black people by police—and the recent extensive media coverage—has taken a toll on Anderson’s mental health, as it has for many African Americans across the nation. She’s felt a whole range of emotions, from anger to frustration to depression. It’s been difficult for her to stop crying, she says, or get some rest.

“This is a hard time for black mental health in general…It’s almost like we’re dealing with the pandemic of COVID-19, and on top of that, we’re dealing with a pandemic of racism. And both of them feel like they have us in a chokehold, unable to breathe,” says Anderson, who founded Brave Souls on Fire, a spoken word group that works to combat the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Now, more than ever, Anderson wishes that Charlottesville had a black mental health center, which could provide a “safe and liberating space to process racial trauma” for all black residents. She is also disappointed in local politicians and organizations that have released statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, but have done little to reach out to the black community, and haven’t provided any type of free mental health care.

For Katrina Turner, a member of the initial Police Civilian Review Board, the trauma is personal. In 2016, her son, Timothy Porter, called 911, claiming his girlfriend attacked him. The officers “chose to arrest him,” Turner says. “While he was handcuffed, they threw him against the wall. One of the cops threw a set of keys, hitting him in the back of the head. When they took him to their car, they threw him up against the front [and side] of the car…I witnessed it all.”

Turner and her family filed a complaint against the officers, but she says nothing was done. (Police spokesman Tyler Hawn says the department completed an internal affairs investigation, but cannot release the results publicly.) Since then, Turner has continued to pursue the complaint while publicly taking a stand against police brutality in Charlottesville, and now says her “mental health” is “through the roof.”

“Something needs to be done,” she says. “It shouldn’t have taken us to witness that murder on TV for all of this to happen.”

While it’s not easy, Eboni Bugg, a licensed clinical social worker practicing in the Charlottesville area, encourages all black people to “rest and breathe,” and take the necessary steps to protect their mental health during this time.

Prayer or meditation are helpful rituals to have, as well as a healthy sleeping and eating schedule, says Bugg, who serves on the steering committee for the Central Virginia Clinicians of Color Network. It’s also important to take time off of social media, do activities you enjoy, and intentionally connect with family and friends.

Bugg encourages adults of color in need of professional help to call CVCCN’s free non-crisis emotional support line (218-0440), which is available every Wednesday evening. Clinicians provide callers with immediate, short-term assistance, including resources and referral services.

In addition, The Women’s Initiative’s Sister Circle program offers free mental health care and support groups for black women.

“[I] just let myself feel whatever that feeling is, and don’t have any guilt about it,” says Anderson, when asked how she’s taking care of herself. “If I’m upset, I’m going to be upset. If I’m sad, I’m going to be sad. And I’m going to allow myself the space to work through that, whatever that looks like.”


 Statement from CPD Chief RaShall Brackney:

It is unfortunate as the nation is on the cusp of bringing about transformational reforms in policing policies and practices, there is a local attempt to divert attention to a case that has been investigated, and reviewed by Internal Affairs, multiple City Mangers, and Chiefs of Police.

On June 17, 2016, Mr. Timothy Porter pled guilty to an assault and battery. Mr. Porter’s guilty plea stemmed from the events Ms. Turner references in her statement to the C’Ville Weekly.  It is also factually inaccurate, as Mr. Porters’ intake picture and subsequent arrests for violating protective orders depicts that he was “ bleeding and all scratched up.”

During my two-year tenure as the Chief of Police, the Charlottesville Police Department has fully embraced the pillars of 21st Century Policing, in an attempt to undue the legacy of institutional practices that were established by predecessors. We will continue to work collaboratively with this community to reimagine the role of policing as we strive towards “Service Beyond the Call.”

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‘Radical engagement:’ Minority children seek mental health services

Children resettling in the U.S. often bring with them the emotional trauma caused from exiting their country at a time of high stress. A local nonprofit supporting minority families wants to help people interact and provide services for these kids.

For Kibiriti Majuto, a Charlottesville High School senior and refugee whose family arrived in America from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2011, the best thing educators can do is provide “a safe space,” he says, or “just stand up and say no” to bullies, such as the ones he’s heard call minority students “terrorists”
at CHS.

As he told a crowded room of people at a February 15 workshop sponsored by nonprofit Creciendo Juntos, making someone feel welcome is as simple as taking the time to learn his name.

And for an 11th-grader at Albemarle High School, a quick fix for teachers is not only “having a one-on-one with the student feeling anxious, but having a one-on-one conversation with the attacker.”

Also a speaker at the workshop, she referred to the November 10 event in which she and fellow AHS students stood in the school’s breezeway during a lunch period to voice their concerns about the country’s newly elected leader.

“In our school, after President Trump was elected, we had a speak out,” she said. “That speak out meant everything to me,” because this is where she first announced to her peers her status as an immigrant.

“America was built on immigrants,” she added. “We have made this country so much better.”

But some struggle to find the necessary services to help them assimilate and “are avoiding what they’re feeling because it’s just too much to deal with,” says Eboni Bugg, the program director at The Women’s Initiative, about the post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and fear that children often carry with them after immigrating.

Aside from providing a nurturing environment, Bugg says the next step is to provide a space for them to get services—but oftentimes minority communities don’t recognize the need for mental health assistance, and when they do, language barriers and a lack of health insurance can stop them from receiving help.

Varinia Anderson, a local mental health worker and speaker at the workshop, reminded attendees, “It’s hard to heal while you’re also still suffering,” and said one should be careful not to make a fragile child relive a traumatic experience.

Anderson says what’s needed most in schools is basic acts of friendship (which some have labeled “radical engagement”): truth telling, understanding privilege and taking risks, such as standing up to a bully for another student.

“Currently, [these] have become radical acts,” she says. “These are all words that describe what it means to be a good friend.”