Who to call when the world goes crazy?
When the coronavirus crisis arrived, the big worry was what it could do the lungs. Now we’re hearing a lot about what it can do the brain.
Listen to someone who knows all too well.
“Substance abuse has skyrocketed,” Dominique Barritt said. “Domestic abuse and child abuse has increased exponentially. Isolation for those who don’t have spouses or children has been overwhelming to some people.
“Children whose brains and personalities are still developing have been ripped from essentially the only people they know with the exception of their parents.”
Barritt is a mental health counselor. In a world gone crazy, it’s hard to think of a more essential job. And Barritt’s been doing it free for people who really need help.
She’s been a volunteer for the Greater Orlando Trauma Recovery Network, a group of about
two dozen therapists who volunteer when a crisis hits. A chapter formed in Orlando after the Pulse shooting. Its second activation came after Hurricane Irma.
Then came coronavirus. While that mental health hurricane churns, protest and unrest over George Floyd’s death flared.
That’s led to a disturbing milestone.
“We’ve done a first of its kind for our community,” Barritt said. “A double activation.”
It’s made for long and interesting days for the trauma network counselors. Besides the pro bono work, they’ve been dealing with their regular clients. Oddly enough, business was slow when coronavirus first hit.
“After about a month, the phone has been ringing off the hook,” Barritt said.
It took a while for the initial shock to wear off and depressing reality to set in. Since then, Barritt’s life has become one long tele-health video conference.
New patients, old patients, they all check in with the same basic problem. The human brain was designed to handle the challenges of 2020 B.C., not 2020 A.D.
“Our brains are evolved to deal with the bear or the tiger chasing you,” Barritt said. “Our brains are not evolved for the stress of coronavirus.”
The prefrontal cortex, which controls higher cognitive tasks, gets overwhelmed by the midbrain. Thinking and reasoning stops. Panic can set in.
It feels as if a bear or tiger has been chasing us through a mysterious jungle every day for the past three months. Patients tell Barritt about the difficulties of working from home, of trying to teach their kids algebra, of feeling imprisoned and alone.
The usual mental escapes have been cut off. Things like playing with grandchildren, having coffee with friends, hitting to the gym and going to church.
Almost everyone can relate to the stories. Even the people who’ve been doing the listening.
“Therapists have been living through the same trauma,” Barritt said.
Her husband is in charge of tele-health services for Orlando Health, meaning he’s been swamped for the past three months. She has 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter who wonder why they never went back to school.
The mental damage will be around long after a COVID-19 vaccination is discovered. A study by the Well Being Trust estimated the pandemic could cause up to 154,000 “deaths of despair.”
The U.S. Census Bureau said one-third of Americans have reported significant symptoms of anxiety or clinical depression.
That seems about twothirds of America too low.
In a strange way, the worst of times are also the most rewarding of times for people like Barritt. When their phones ring, they know it’s a cry for help.
“I have the coolest job in the world,” Barritt said. “I get to sit here and watch people put their lives back together every day, all day. My job is to create and hold the space for them to do their work.”
There are a lot of those people out there. Their brains tell them they are being stalked by bears and tigers.
If not for people like Barritt, that chase might never end. This is one in a series of stories about Central Floridians living with and adapting to the coronavirus crisis. If you have a story to tell, contact David Whitley at dwhitley@ orlandosentinel.com.