TAMPA, Fla. — In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, more people are turning to resources to support mental health.
According to the CDC, fear and anxiety over a new disease can be overwhelming and public health actions can make people feel isolated and increase anxiety.
“What we’re actually seeing is a lot of people becoming more aware of their mental health needs,” said Johnny Crowder.
He’s the founder and CEO of Cope Notes. The subscription-based service provides daily mental health support through text messages.
He said at the start of the pandemic, they went through their whole library of text messages, which he says are written by peers with lived experience and gone over by a panel of mental health professionals. He said they also worked to input new content dealing with staying connected, combating fear of the unknown and fighting anxiety.
“It’s really interesting to see the way people talk about mental health changing right in front of us so there are people who a few months ago maybe heard about Cope Notes and thought this really isn’t something for me, I don’t really deal with stress or anxiety or fear. And now we’re seeing those same people come back and saying listen a lot has changed and we always welcome people back with open arms,” said Crowder.
"We know that the world is changing very rapidly right now and I think everyone should be doing something whether it’s cope notes or not it’s we all need to make changes to prioritize our health during this.”
Crowder says they’ve seen about four times their normal subscription rate.
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay works with Cope Notes. The center said they’ve had thousands of COVID-related calls since March, nearly 400 the last week or so.
“Any changes on such a large scale health-wise has impacts on people individually, has impacts on the people they love they care about, their families and there are obviously a lot of community implications. When people rely on communities to meet their needs like going to work, going to school, and those resources get comprised, that would throw off their balance, throws off their routines, the way they see the world,” said Mordecai Dixon.
Dixon is the program director for gateway services at the crisis center. He says many calls are related to finance, housing and school. He said they’re spending more time on the phone with callers, too.
He said if someone is feeling stressed, to talk to someone and be informed about COVID and the resources that can help.
“Really to listen to that information that comes out vet it, make sure it’s real, then act on it so we can maintain safety and then that sense of safety helps us make other plans and make other decisions wisely,” he said.
If someone is concerned about a loved one he offers this:
“Not to fill in the blank, really to either encourage the conversation or get some additional, some additional assistance if you will or guidance on what it is that I'm seeing,” Dixon said.
If you or someone you know are struggling can you call211, the calls can remain anonymous, to receive crisis intervention and referrals to services or community resources.