Elizabeth Irvin – C-VILLE Weekly

Managing mental health during COVID

For some people, quarantine has given them the opportunity to spend more time with their family, catch up on their favorite TV shows, or finally learn how to bake bread, among other things. But for those struggling with anxiety and depression, this time may be very difficult, especially if they live alone.

To learn more about protecting our mental health during the ongoing pandemic, we spoke with Elizabeth Irvin, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director at The Women’s Initiative, which offers free and low-cost (now virtual) counseling to women.

C-VILLE: How may the pandemic be affecting people who struggle with anxiety and depression?

Elizabeth Irvin: The virus and our stay-at-home order are triggering fear and uncertainty for everyone. In different ways, that is showing up for people who had depression and anxiety before this all got started. Their symptoms are continuing and sometimes worsening, but we’re also seeing incredible resilience, with many people really putting in the extra effort to reach out and get the care that they need.

The other additional impacts on people with depression and anxiety are what’s facing so many people, including issues with job security, money, and childcare, as well as feelings of isolation and disconnection from others. So as those issues worsen during this time period, it’s that much more important for people with underlying conditions to take even more steps for their self-care and well-being.

What can people struggling with mental wellness do to stay healthy at home?

It’s so important to get the facts about the virus from reliable sources, and make sure to also take media breaks. Avoid…too much negative content, because it really increases your anxiety. Taking the healthy actions that we all can, like good hand-washing, social distancing, and having a plan if someone gets sick—that’s anxiety-reducing too.

I also recommend keeping a schedule and making time to do activities that you enjoy…If the despair or depression is really starting to settle in, you may not have any interest in doing these things. However, it’s really important to start activities often, even without a lot of motivation to them, because they themselves help you feel better.

Taking time to create calm in your day…and taking care of your body are very important. The studies on exercise are clear, both for reduction of anxiety and depression, as well as improved sleep. They also are beginning to show results of fighting the virus. You can do that by running in place in a room and doing jumping jacks—things that don’t even require you to go outside.

Lastly, there’s staying connected. We are physically distancing, but we can make scheduled times to call and reach out to friends and family through FaceTime, Zoom, or however you can. Checking in on a neighbor, from a safe distance, is just as important. We don’t want people to feel acute isolation during this time.

But if you’re trying these things at home…and your symptoms are worsening, please call and reach out for professional help.

What can those who aren’t struggling with
mental wellness do to support their friends and family who are?

Regular check-ins, in the way the person would prefer you to do them. That could mean a text, a brief phone call, or a scheduled longer phone call once a week…You can also reach out for help from a professional yourself to know at what point somebody might need more support.

Overall, do what you can to help and support that person, and recognize you also need to then take care of yourself. Don’t forget your own self-care as you’re supporting others.

For more information on how to access The Women’s Initiative’s free call-in clinic, go to thewomensinitiative.org

#MeToo effect: Movement brings local victims forward

Since 2017, when the #MeToo movement galvanized women across the country to speak out about sexual abuse and assault, local support agencies have seen a dramatic increase in requests for help.

Calls to the Sexual Assault Resource Agency to accompany victims to the emergency room increased by 42 percent from fiscal year 2017 to 2018, and the agency saw an 18 percent increase in the number of sexual violence survivors it served. But Rebecca Weybright, SARA’s executive director, sees #MeToo having the greatest impact on those victimized in the past: “We have people coming in saying, ‘This happened to me years ago, and because of what’s in the news, I realized it is still an issue for me.’”

Weybright and others in the field say media coverage of #MeToo—and more recent events, from the Kavanaugh hearings to the R. Kelly docuseries—can stir up traumatic reactions in survivors. But it can also help in healing. “Seeing people talking publicly about their experiences has made it safer and more accepted to talk about what happened,” says Elizabeth Irvin, executive director of the Women’s Initiative. And it counteracts the shaming and devaluation of victims that advocates say is part of the power dynamic of sexual violence. The Women’s Initiative, which provides mental health services for women (many of whom are survivors of sexual trauma) regardless of ability to pay, saw a 50 percent increase in clients at its free walk-in clinic in 2018.

Over at UVA, Abby Palko, director of the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center, says the center has seen “a steady, perhaps growing need for support” from students who have experienced sexual violence; staffing grew from two to four full-time counselors in 2016, and they’ve just added another two. Palko, who also teaches courses that explore women’s and gender issues, says over the last decade she’s seen “a growing internalized knowledge about issues of consent and sexual violence” in her students. Events like the debunked Rolling Stone article “A Rape on Campus,” the abduction and murder of Hannah Graham, and the killing of student Yeardley Love by her boyfriend “meant we were talking more about these issues at UVA when the #MeToo movement took off.”

So far, the rise in awareness and requests for support hasn’t translated into a significant increase in reporting these crimes to the police. Both the Charlottesville and Albemarle County police departments offer victim/witness assistance programs, but filing a police report is voluntary and always the individual’s choice. (Under Virginia law, however, teachers, law enforcement, medical personnel, and counselors or social workers are required to report sexual violence if the victim is a minor, or if there is an immediate threat to the victim or the public.) Worth noting: in Virginia, there is no statute of limitations on felony sexual assault.

Charlottesville Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Areshini Pather, who works on many sexual assault cases, says #MeToo has torn open our society’s past reluctance to talk about sexual violence. “Perpetrators would tell victims, ‘If you tell anyone about this, no one will believe you.’ But now people are talking about sexual violence, which enables survivors to see that what happened to them has happened to others, and won’t be tolerated. We’re bringing this out into the light.”

How to help victims of sexual violence

Those who counsel sexual assault victims and survivors say the most critical factor in healing is the response of the first person they turn to—often a friend or family member. If you are that person, the most important thing you can do is to believe them, and remind them they are not to blame for what happened.

From there, take your cues from them on how to help:

Listen non-judgmentally. Don’t try to put a label on their experience. Let them know that all of their reactions are understandable and ‘normal.’
Seek permission before holding or touching them.
Ask them what they would like you to do.
Encourage them to seek medical help, and offer to accompany them.
Be available and present, but don’t pressure them to talk. Understand that they may be distant temporarily.
Give them time to decide how they want to proceed, legally or otherwise. It’s important to help survivors regain a sense of control.
If you are a sexual partner, give them time to decide when they are ready for sexual contact.
Suggest getting help from a sexual assault crisis center. Encourage, but do not push them to seek support.
Let them know you will be available throughout the process of recovery. Give them time to heal.
Recognize and address your own reactions, which may include: anger (sometimes towards the victim as well as the perpetrator), sleep disturbances, guilt or shame, fearfulness, denial, frustration, depression, or a combination of these. Seek support for yourself so you can continue to help them.

—Based on information from the Sexual Assault Resource Agency.