It is important to have good mental health resources at Georgetown because feeling and being supported is a human need that we all deserve to have met. Being able to offer that in our own community is a special privilege. Learning skills to handle difficulties – both at work and in our personal lives – gives employees the chance to experience some peace of mind. With that, they can be their best selves at home and in the job and they can continue to do good and productive work while developing flexibility and resiliency in the face of change and hardship.
Mental health resources are important to give our community a place to be listened to and cared for so that they don’t feel alone or isolated, to acquire skills that can be used during times of emotional turbulence, to build resilience for difficulties that will be experienced in every life and to offer supportive tools to give faculty and staff the ability to be productive and peaceful at their jobs and in the workplace.
I cope by doing the same things I encourage my clients to do – by staying connected to loved ones, finding things to laugh about, trying to be helpful to the people in my own sphere, being diligent in my work, caring for my physical health, respecting my true feelings – even the difficult ones – and then looking for the silver linings in all of this. I’m working on my patience and on accepting this moment for what it is while knowing, “deep down to my socks”, that this is not going to last forever. We will survive!