The next wave of COVID-19 is PTSD, and it’s coming for America’s teachers
Written by: Emily Heaslip
As COVID-19 cases skyrocket across the US, schools face unbearable pressure to reopen — under the threat of losing funding if they don’t. Yet few educators say they feel prepared to return to classrooms safely.
Educators have already shouldered an outsized burden during this pandemic. Now they’re experiencing heightened anxiety, insomnia, and depression, putting them at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder far into the future.
Military members and emergency medical workers anticipate the risks of PTSD and learn to spot the symptoms. But few teachers are trained to prepare themselves against PTSD.
The need to mental health support educators proactively is growing. As the economy reopens and children return to school, a mental health crisis among our teachers looms.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by witnessing or experiencing a terrifying event. According to the Mayo Clinic, PTSD symptoms include memory problems, severe emotional distress and aggressive behavior among others. Symptoms can start within a month of the traumatic event but may not appear until years afterward. The US Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 8 million adults experience PTSD every year.
Teachers and front-line workers are more vulnerable to PTSD, but its ripple effect under COVID will impact society as a whole. In 2019 the World Health Organization estimated that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion per year in lost productivity. The pandemic will almost certainly push that number higher.
The hidden danger of shortcuts
Unlike a nurse or doctor, teachers may not recognize PTSD symptoms for what they are. PTSD’s unpredictable nature can cause people to turn to coping mechanisms with long-term, damaging effects.
Benzos and opioids offer a quick way to alleviate symptoms. The opioid epidemic seized headlines in 2019 but there’s a growing, hidden epidemic of benzo dependency not getting as much attention. Benzodiazepines (“benzos”) are prescribed to treat insomnia and anxiety, and patients and doctors are largely unaware of how addicting these substances are.
Many people are seeking mental health help now for mental health symptoms, getting brand-new benzo prescriptions without much guidance. The number of prescriptions filled per week for antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and anti-insomnia medications increased by 21% between February and March 2020 according to MarketWatch.
Teachers work around the clock planning lessons and messaging students. They don’t always have time for mindfulness, exercise or other coping mechanisms. As a result, educators may be especially susceptible to leaning on benzos during this time. Many Americans already have these medications readily available in their bathroom cupboards — from an old knee injury, to take when flying, for help sleeping. Unfortunately, once you start taking these medications, it’s very difficult to stop.
How can we better support teachers?
While useful in limited contexts, pills are overused with major long-term consequences. Individuals experiencing PTSD need to recognize their symptoms as such and find effective techniques to manage them, including:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is a type of psychotherapy that works to modify dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and thoughts by challenging negative or irrational beliefs. This therapy focuses on interrupting and changing negative thoughts that lead to emotional difficulty. X and Y are low-cost apps teachers can use to alleviate mild PTSD symptoms.
- Mindfulness. Studies have shown that mindfulness practices, like meditation, may help lower and manage PTSD symptoms. School employers should offer free access to apps like Headspace or Calm to all educators and staff.
- Exercise. Research with veterans experiencing PTSD shows that physical activity enhances well-being by reducing symptoms and improving coping strategies.
- EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, a type of psychotherapy that shows promise in reducing the symptoms of PTSD. The treatment uses the patient’s own rapid, rhythmic eye movements to “dampen the power of emotionally charged memories of past traumatic events,” according to WebMD. EMDR can be administered online by a trained counselor.
- Online support groups. Group therapy has shifted online with the pandemic and widening the kinds of mental health support available. Teachers can join educator groups to share experiences and coping strategies in discussions led by licensed counselors.
As the long-term effects of COVID-19 emerge, let’s not ignore the mental health aspects of this pandemic. Our teachers have put their health and lives on the line for our communities. Failing to provide treatment options for essential workers with PTSD would be unconscionable.
Visit us at Skyler Health, where we empower people to prevent and stop anxiety, pain, medication & substance dependence with professional, licensed, and vetted counselors that you can trust.
Adnan Asar is President & CEO of Skyler Health, a teletherapy platform.
