Living through Traumatic Times

This is an archived post that was originally published at beyond-terminal.com

I didn’t have a chance to post last week since I was sick with COVID.

Since receiving the COVID vaccine and booster, I have felt less trepidation about COVID. But, even with this safeguard in place, I knew that my compromised immune system still might have an uphill battle if and when I encountered the virus.

This indeed was the case. When my fever neared 103 degrees and I wasn’t keeping down food and liquids for a 24-hour period, Dan brought me to urgent care. I was put on an IV and given liquids and prescribed Paxlovid.

As I write this, it’s been five days since I started this emergency-approved medication. I do believe it helped lessen the symptoms and duration of my illness, and I’m thankful that this was an option.

I’m departing from my usual format this week because getting COVID has given me pause. I think about all those people out there with compromised immune systems. Children’s Cancer Research Fund, one of the organizations I’m passionate about, raises and allocates money to cutting-edge research that improves the lives of pediatric cancer patients.

Chemotherapy is currently the most common way to treat cancer. Anyone who has had chemo knows what it was like to live in pandemic circumstances even before the pandemic hit. They knew the importance of masking up and of being ever-vigilant of germs.

I’m still shocked that masking became such a political firestorm.

Having lived with a compromised immune system for close to 40 years now, it seemed like a no-brainer to put a mask on when the virus was rampant. Yes, I was interested in wearing a mask to protect myself from getting the virus. But I also was willing to wear a mask to reduce the likelihood that I would inadvertently infect someone else.

I recognize that our beliefs about mask mandates are complicated and, in some cases, tied to people’s understanding of what constitutes “freedom.” We indeed are a nation built on individual liberties. In comparison, many Asian countries place a greater emphasis on collectivism, and this is arguably why masking did not become politicized there to the same extent that it did in the United States.

While living in Asia from 2007-2009, I saw people wearing masks all the time. Why were they doing this? If they suspected they were sick, they wore a mask to prevent spreading their illness to someone else. It was a considerate and selfless act.

Why else am I taking a pause to reflect on COVID? Because I think there still are going to be major ramifications as a result of the trauma many have endured the last two and one-half years. Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide are all up significantly since 2019. The need for holistic approaches to health has never been greater during my lifetime. I don’t have the answers, but I will call out what I’m seeing and continue to advocate for legislation that funds mental health initiatives. Further, I will continue to be a champion of whole-person care.

There are countless people who need to process the current trauma – living through a pandemic – while still processing their childhood trauma. In fact, in the absence of therapy and tools, I would imagine that some people’s past traumas have become even more acute during this time. As we live through these traumatic times, our past traumas cannot be overlooked.

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Resignation