Climate & Mental Health
Internal Resources:
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For staff and faculty (anyone benefits-eligible): https://lifework.arizona.edu/coronavirus provides information on employee assistance counseling (including mental health telemedicine options with no copay), Sick and backup childcare, and Adult and elder care
- For physical health telemedicine (again, no copay): https://hr.arizona.edu/news/sign-doctor-demand
- For grad and undergrad students: CAPS remains open and has telehealth options: https://health.arizona.edu/counseling-psych-services
University Contacts:
- Please direct staff concerns to the hrsolutions [at] email [dot] arizona [dot] edu (subject: Coronavirus%20concern) (Human Resources) (Tel: 520-621-3660)
- Please direct student concerns to the DOS-deanofstudents [at] email [dot] arizona [dot] edu (subject: Coronavirus%20concern) (Dean of Students’ Office) (Tel: 520-621-7057).
- Please direct family concerns to uafamily [at] email [dot] arizona [dot] edu (subject: Coronavirus%20concern) (Parent & Family Programs) (Tel: 520-621-0884).
- Please direct faculty concerns to the provost [at] email [dot] arizona [dot] edu (subject: Coronavirus%20concern) (Provost’s Office) (Tel: 520-621-1856).
External Resources:
- Keeping Your Distance to Stay Safe (APA)
- Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020)
- Tips for Maintaining Good Sleep during Isolation
- Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2020)
- Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Advice for the Public (World Health Organization, 2020)
- Taking Care of Your Behavioral Health: Tips for Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation During an Infectious Disease Outbreak (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014)
- The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence (Brooks, S.K., et al., The Lancet, 2020)
As we navigate these moments, some things that may help us:
1. Reduce your reactivity moment to moment—assess the changes, questions, concerns, and goals, and then plan in a measured way to respond.
There is an emotional impact to any sort of natural disaster or disruptive event in our lives. Take time to talk about or process that impact, but allow yourself to work in a manner that is kind, thoughtful, paced, and gives everyone a little more benefit of the doubt.
2. Structure your time—changes in our schedule are disruptive, and keeping a schedule as much as possible will create a feeling of security.
Plan times when you will work, and when you will not work, and put those on your calendar. Try to keep schedules where you can, even though the work is being done remotely. Working from home creates the chance that you will work all the time, and this is not healthy, particularly under stress. Set aside place(s) in your home where you will work and keep work materials, so they don’t take over your physical space. Plan what you will do when you are not working—set up times to phone friends, to exercise, to get outside.
3. Remember that this is also an opportunity—natural disasters are infrequent, but certainly occur. This situation forces us to take the time to figure out how to work remotely, which will benefit us and others in the future
We can emerge from this situation stronger than ever as a community if we enact good policies, show leadership, are kind to each other, and feel proud of how we handled it. Telehealth and online education can benefit many communities who are remote even when there is not a natural disaster, and by having to learn these methods, we may ultimately benefit rural, or homebound, or institutionalized individuals. It is an opportunity for us, and for our students, to dig into the research on stress reactions to quarantine, or online education, or world health disparities, etc. We can clarify and affirm our values and goals, and ensure that although our activities may look different from how they did before, they still uphold these principles.