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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: April 24, 2020
Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman
Director, CARE
Summary Sentence:
Tips for Building Emotional Resilience During a Pandemic
Full Summary:
No summary paragraph submitted.
mental health image for articleThe pervasive sense of uncertainty experienced in association with COVID-19 causes stress and frustration. It is understandable to experience fear and worry over what is the “new normal” given that there are so many unknowns. The Center for Assessment, Referral, and Education (CARE) encourages faculty, staff, and students to examine their own internal resources to help them cope. As CARE clinical case manager C.D. Wright pointed out, “It is imperative that we remind ourselves that the current situation is not permanent.”
It’s important to recognize signs of stress but even more important to remember that we can manage it. “You control how stress affects you,” said Dr. Tiffiny Hughes-Troutman, director of CARE. “The question is: What will you do with that stress? What is in your control? These are uncertain times, and it’s easy to get caught in a state of fear and helplessness.”
It’s also important to recognize the range of emotions that individuals are facing outside of stress — namely, grief. Many psychological experts have identified a state of collective sorrow with COVID-19. Literature on the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, despair, acceptance) can be applied to what individuals are experiencing with COVID-19. Denial happens when people downplay the impact of the virus, and many feel angry when they can’t go outside or connect with others face to face. Despair occurs when people believe their lives will never be the same again.
Tameka Collins, CARE clinical case manager, said, “This pandemic is a collective trauma that is beyond any one person’s control. Some are hanging on to thoughts of what life used to be like and any notion of when things may return to the way they used to be.”
Hughes-Troutman added, “Remember that we are a strong and resilient community. Research has shown that individuals who go through difficult life experiences arise from them with a greater appreciation of life and somewhat transformed.”
Here are some steps to take on a pathway to resilience:
Contact the Center for Assessment, Referral, and Education (CARE) at 404.894.3498 and learn more at care.gatech.edu.
