Scientific American February 2021 pp10 |Science Agenda|Opinion and Analysis from Scientific American’s Board of Editors|”A Psychological First Aid Kit” “Simple skills might ease a COVID mental health crisis”
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Summary of Article
Since the onset of the COVID pandemic many if not most of us have experienced a range of anxiety and or depression and while the country is rightfully focused on extinguishing COVID by physical measures and vaccines we need to address the associated “mental health crisis.” “A set of simple measures known as psychological first aid”…”can help family, friends and others…cope with “psychological distress from pandemic fatigue, COVID convalescence, or the loss of a friend or relative.”
With first aid the first objective is to “stabilize the patient.” If someone fears even going outside then a first aid pointer would be “air currents and sunlight reduce the risk of becoming ill…”. In such situations best as well to not dwell on “details of the event…”. The last key point is stressing one’s “’self-efficacy’” in dealing with the situation including “basic needs for food and shelter and establishing contact with a family of mental health professional.” This approach has been used before with training mostly of governmental workers but now “Psychological first aid is accessible…online for free through Coursera…”
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