Wellness Wednesday with Angela Davis

The pandemic is taking a toll on mental health. Stress, isolation, uncertainty, boredom — all of these can cause depression and anxiety to take hold. 

But they can also be triggers for people who experience substance use disorders with alcohol or drugs. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talked with two people at the front lines of recovery about how programs have changed to accommodate the pandemic, and hears from listeners who share their own stories of recovery.
On Wednesday’s show, Joseph Lee, a psychiatrist and the medical director of Hazelden Betty Ford’s youth services, said alcohol, marijuana and other drug sales have skyrocketed since the global pandemic began. For people in recovery who relied on a physical community for empathic connections, abruptly having that taken away can be jarring for their mental health.

“A unique thing about this context is that people are alone,” Lee said. “They’re in their houses wondering if the fear, the paranoia, the despair that they feel -- is that just unto themselves or do other people experience it, too?”

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, Hazelden Betty Ford had been in the process of creating a virtual service called RecoveryGo, which provides virtual group and individual therapy; no one knew just how soon they would be needing it.

Other recovery programs in the Twin Cities have made the shift, too. Bill Jaap, owner of Northeast Recovery Room in Minneapolis, said their daily 12-step meetings for substance use disorder recovery are now held completely online.

“We’re doing what we can with what we’ve got,” Jaap said. “I’ve seen a lot of people grateful for what we do have in terms of the connectivity we have in this day and age.” 

Both Lee and Jaap said they believe virtual services are here to stay. Being online allows providers to not only continue programming, but also reach people they may not have been able to before. 

Elizabeth from Minneapolis called in to share her story of finding real help from virtual Alcoholics Anonymous sessions, something she says wouldn’t have been possible before COVID-19, while taking care of her two kids.

“I’m grateful, in a way, for this pandemic because if I was having to leave the house every day for an hour to an hour and a half to go to a meeting, I probably couldn’t be attending them,” she said. “Now’s a great time to try. You don’t even have to show your face on a Zoom meeting, you can just listen and it’s been a wonderful experience.”

Other callers shared experiences and tips for coping with the challenges of a substance abuse disorder during the coronavirus response. Lee encouraged people to take advantage of any extra time they have on their hands and use it to take a first step toward recovery.

“Find hope. Know that you’re not alone,” Lee said. “There are a ton of people ready to help if you just reach out.”

If you need immediate mental health help, check out these resources. Learn more about MPR’s initiative to foster new conversations about mental health at www.calltomindnow.org.