Melanie Cole (Host): I'm so glad you could join us for It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole and I've got Karen Warmack with us today. She's a Registered Nurse and the Program Director of the Behavioral Health Unit at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and she's here to help us take care of our mental health in this post COVID world.

Karen, thanks so much for being with us. This has really been such a crazy few years and people are feeling all sorts of things at this time. Some is strange, some they have never felt before. Some of us like me, kind of always anxious, you know? But now even more so. What is it that you're seeing that we're experiencing right now? What are you seeing in people on a daily basis?

Karen Warmack, RN: Hi Melanie. Thank you so much for having me on. And I just need to tell you really what I see in a lot of people today is fear, levels of anxiety, uncertainty, even a lot of mistrust. A lot of people don't believe that we can take our mask down and they're like, is it really true? Can we do it? And it's just a lot of fears Melanie, to be really honest, people still are addressing fears. But the other end I see people who are ecstatic and happy and grateful. Really, that pendulum does swing from one end to the other.

Host: Well, I certainly agree with you and help us to understand a little bit, you just mentioned about people being afraid to take their masks down, and then on the other end of the spectrum there's people who never wanted to wear one and get mad at people who still want to wear one, whether they've got immune issues or whatever. Help us to understand what COVID really did to us. And not only did it affect us physically in many ways for people with long COVID and post COVID symptoms, but mentally in so many ways.

Karen Warmack, RN: Oh my goodness, Melanie, this is so true. You know, you earlier had my favorite psychiatrist, Dr. Engento Corey and she talked to everyone just about this cave syndrome and what really COVID did, and really it is that isolation and the not knowing, am I really safe and experiencing loved ones who have actually been affected by COVID and have passed away from COVID?

And so I just have to say, the past two years, COVID did a number on all of us and there's still residual this of it. I joke we have people that say, I have the COVID belly and weight from this not coming out. There are people that were isolated and still struggle with levels of uncertainty and isolating their self from crowds and stores and restaurants, but yet they'll feel comfortable to take their masks off maybe in their home, around their family. And COVID created another level of attitudes with people that I'm noticing, and it really is, I'm going to keep saying this word, levels of anxiety, and that presents as, I'm not really sure, can I do it, or I am 65 and older, or I have issues with my health and I have to be more cautious.

And I even see people in the grocery store still wearing their gloves, when they're out and about. And so the whole effect of these past two years with COVID has really created levels of uncertainty with a lot of people. And it is really getting them to a place that they have trust and believe that they can be safe.

And some people that I've seen created pretty healthy practices wherein that I see them using the hand sanitizers or washing their hands more often and really taking the mask down in areas where it's not crowded. So it really has affected us into some way anxiety, but yet there's some areas that it's created pretty healthy practices too, with washing hands more often and really being aware of your surroundings and being aware of who you're around and coughing correctly in between your elbow.

I've seen those practices that have developed during this whole COVID, I call this, the COVID thing that we experienced.

Host: Well, and not only is there that sort of thing, sort of the real physical aspect of what this has done; but when we look at social media, and I'm not only talking COVID, I'm talking the last bunch of years, when we look at social media and what that's done to increase our mental anxiety and in some families breaking apart because of politics and arguing and fighting, and then about COVID as well, there was two sides of what we were seeing. And it just became so contentious. What do you think social media is doing as far as adding to this mental anxiety that we're all feeling?

Karen Warmack, RN: Oh my goodness, Melanie, you know, you really hit the nail on the head. Social media has just created even more fears, more anxiety, and it also increased a lot of people's insecurity or uncertainty or what to believe. You have organizations like the CDC that will give us facts and give us the true information and data.

But then you have someone saying, well, no, that's not true. And social media has played a huge impact for the generations who are on the computer. Then we have a generation of people that aren't on social media and their fears and their uncertainties and their anxieties are based on the history, and the experience of their neighbor down the street, did not fend well or their family and someone has passed away. And so social media definitely has played a big impact, but also our own personal experience, Melanie that has created even some of our levels of distress in our own self, right?

It's our friends and our families. So it's our own experiences on top of social media, somewhat fueling and flaming, either I'm fine and this was a joke or fueling the flame that says, this is really scary. And now we have omni variants and we have the monkeypox and we have all these other things coming up. Really, there's a generation of people that still feel very unsafe.

Host: Yeah, so I see that as well, Karen. Now let's talk about self-care. As we think about the things that we can do in our own little bubbles however we're feeling about COVID, whether we're still somebody who is concerned about it, whether we're kind of feeling free and open now. What are some things that you recommend that we do as far as exercise, nutrition, yoga, meditation, any of these things that can help us with our own self-care? Because we do, and especially we women have to take care of ourselves or we cannot take care of our loved ones.

Karen Warmack, RN: This is so true. That is such a great question, and thank you for asking that. The number one thing that I say, and we talk about this all the time among my colleagues and peers, is addressing the elephant in the room, which is the fear. And really understanding that it's okay. So then that becomes reaching out and talking to other people, that's just number one. It's really creating a group or a circle of friends that you can reach out and begin to talk about fears and concerns. And in that becomes a sense of security, a peace, and then laughter comes. That's the next best thing. I talk about self-care. It's reaching out and connecting with friends.

And then the second thing is laughing a lot, Melanie. I'm telling you, humor and joy and laughing brings such a level of healing and peace inside ourself. I was laughing this morning. It really does increase endorphins and it does help us become a little bit more healthier. The other thing that I always say is, and, and people say, oh no, don't talk about it.

It's exercise and you brought it up. The yoga, the stretching, the meditation. It's getting out in the open air and getting sun and walking, whether it's 5, 15, 20, 30 minutes, but it's getting out of your environment and walking and just being intentional. And recognizing the beautyness that is around us and being aware of your breathing and being aware that you're in the sun, exercising, getting out in the open is really very important. I think that's the best thing we can do. And another thing we talk about is food and how we eat and how we nourish our soul, and how we nourish the things that help our brain. And it's the fresh fruits and it's the vegetables and plenty of water.

And I think when we're isolated, a lot of us stayed home and we began to cook and we did eat a little bit more healthier and we weren't going out to some of those great fast food restaurants that we also enjoyed. But I think it's going back to that and being able to eat healthy, drink plenty of water, and again, get that sunshine during the day.

 Those are the greatest self healthcare that I can tell you. And the other piece that I really don't ever want to forget about anxiety and fear, because some of that initiates consistent fears and sometimes they are unfounded fears. And I say that if you're finding yourself really afraid to come out; then that's when you really want to seek professional help. And that's where you have, counselors and therapists that you can call or you can sign up to go see, to address some of the depression that might be underneath some of the anxiety or address some of the fears that now it's two and a half years later and you're still frightened.

And so I think all of that. I believe all of that, Melanie, is taking care of ourself and getting great self-care, right? We need to do that as women. It is all of those things. It's just really spending time with family and friends and laughing, getting out, walking, being intentional and eating right. I mean, I don't know. I, think those are some of the great starts that we can do as people in our lives to stay healthy and mind healthy.

Host: I agree with you completely and really mindfulness and being intentional, just as you say, and being aware of our surroundings and gratitude. And for some people, spirituality helps and as you said, yoga and exercise and you made me laugh when you said I laughed this morning. I was like, oh, I'm laughing right now. Cause that sounded so sweet. And this was really just great advice Karen. Thank you so much for joining us today and kind of setting it out there for us, really giving us a place to start and to look at ourselves and our family and our surroundings and say, you know, it's okay now. So, thank you so much.

You're very sweet, and thank you again for joining us, and you can visit the free health information library at library.henrymayo.com for so much great information that we have available there. That concludes this episode of It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. Always remember to share these shows with your friends and family on your social channels because we are learning from the experts at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital together.

I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for joining us today.