SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – This certainly will be a holiday season unlike any other.
As the coronavirus continues to surge, millions of families will spend their first Christmas without a loved one who has died or been hospitalized from the disease.
The pandemic is impacting several time-honored holiday traditions.
At the end of a year where shared celebrations and community may feel more important than ever before, it’s important we all take the time to care for our mental health.
Gigi Crowder, the executive director with the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Contra Costa County, joined KRON4.
“We get called daily from family members who have concerns about their loved ones and more often than not, it’s young people, it’s individuals we consider transitional age youth, who are really having a difficult time. Back in March with the shutdown, we started seeing, getting phone calls about individuals feeling anxious and depressed, and kind of feeling like there would be an end to it, but now that we’re here in a time of the year that we’re, people often already suffer from seasonal effective disorder, it’s much for difficult for them to find joy in the season of joy so our calls have gotten much more desperate,” Crowder said.
You can listen to the full interview above.
Mental Health Helplines
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
- OK2Talk Helpline Teen Helpline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
- Crisis Text Line: Text SINGS to 741741 for 24/7 anonymous, free crisis counseling
Click on your county to find a list of mental health resources: