Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Mental health is another virus recovery challenge
“I stared my mortality in the face.”
Jeff Perlman sleeps fitfully, dreaming he is paralyzed and hearing the screams of hospital patients in adjacent rooms. He knows what to expect when he wakes up: a headache that will last five hours.
After 39 agonizing days at Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach, he was released in August. Now he struggles with anxiety, emotional swings, lack of concentration. And guilt that he survived COVID-19.
The Delray Beach father of four has severe pains in his left leg and right arm and has started to keep lists to compensate for memory loss. He can’t walk long distances. A news story or song from his past triggers waves of emotion.
Yes, he’s seeing a therapist.
“I stared my mortality in the face,” said Perlman, 56, executive vice president of a consumer products company in Boca Raton. “You’re alone in the hospital and only see people in heavy space suits. You can’t see their expressions. You’re deprived of human touch. You’re left alone with your thoughts and all that
was left unsaid. It was very isolating, and it’s taken an emotional toll.”
Although many COVID19 survivors have been talking about the physical ailments that are accompanying their recoveries, some are just now starting to speak about a topic that may be more challenging to discuss: their mental health.
All of us are experiencing stress due to COVID-19. We’re afraid we’ll contract it. We’re worried that the people we’re coming into contact with are carriers. We’re feeling isolated from our friends and families.
But studies are showing the anxiety of people who contracted the virus is on a whole different level. A British study published this month found there’s almost a 20% likelihood of a psychiatric diagnosis, such as depression or insomnia, in the weeks and months following a patient’s receipt of positive test results.
A COVID-19 patient who has to stay in the hospital has a higher risk of getting a mental health diagnosis than someone who is able to quarantine at home. And those in recovery are much more likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder compared with someone who had the flu, gallstones or large bone fractures, the study showed.
“Enhanced psychiatric follow-up should be considered for patients who survive COVID-19,” the researchers said.
The findings are not surprising considering the trauma many hospitalized COVID-19 patients have experienced. They’re unable to see anyone they know, placed on machines they’ve never seen before and taking medicines that are still experimental.
If they haven’t been to the hospital, they’re forced to quarantine alone when public health directives are confusing, and they’re not even sure when they’re cured.
“I was terrified of COVID. I took it seriously,” said Sarima Gracia, 43, of Miami. “But then I got it, and it’s been life-changing for me.”
Although she quarantined at home in June, she still has body aches, brain fog and no sense of taste or smell. She says the disease has also affected her mind.
“Sometimes I’m not able to put words together,” said Gracia, who owns an advertising agency. “I really have to push to get out of bed. I open my eyes and I have horrible thoughts, like ‘Would anyone notice if I wasn’t here?’ I have to reel myself back.”
When she shares how she’s been feeling, she encounters an assortment of reactions.
“There are people who ‘get’ it or at least try to,” she said. “Others are either annoyed about the subject overall or think you are exaggerating. It is very discouraging. My goal from the get-go has been to overshare. Whoever does not want to listen, it’s on them.”
Talking about it is key to recovery, said Amanda Weiss, clinical supervisor at the Faulk Center for Counseling in Boca Raton.
“The anxiety comes in because the recovery trajectory is unknown,” Weiss said. “They wonder if they will get reinfected, will it come back, how long will the symptoms last. Then there’s the impact of having been isolated and not knowing the long-term consequences.”
Perlman, who was mayor of Delray Beach from 2003 to 2007, said his mind tends to run wild with these possibilities, and he discusses this with his therapist. He also sees a physical therapist, for his arm and leg pain.
When doctors told him he could be released from the hospital, he almost didn’t want to leave. He doubted he could take care of himself without the quick access to medical staff he had been depending on. Still using an oxygen tank to breathe, he wondered if he would be a burden on his family.
“I worry that he’s been through such emotional trauma,” said his wife, Diane Colonna. “He feels things very deeply. Fortunately he’s able to articulate it.”
Perlman said his therapist has helped him see he will emerge one day from the dark places his mind visits.
“I’m not fully myself yet. I still have a ways to go,” he said.
He hopes the country is prepared to deal with former COVID-19 patients’ mental health challenges once the virus is vanquished.
“There are going to be a lot of emotional issues left for society to deal with,” he said.
How to deal with post-COVID-19 stress
1. Limit social media and access to news, for a few hours a day at least.
2. Talk with family and friends about how you’re feeling, and with a therapist if needed.
3. Clean out a closet. Read a book. Learn to meditate.
4. Develop a new hobby, such as cooking, crafts or puzzles.
5. Step away from your desk: Take a walk or find a yoga follow-along video on YouTube.
6. Join the Facebook group, “Florida Covid Longhaulers.” They explore long-term issues related to COVID-19 recovery and exchange tips about how to feel better.