The continuing COVID-19 crisis is putting a lot of extra stress on individuals and families. And the Director of the Vermilion County Mental Health 708 Board, Jim Russell, has some suggestions for dealing with it.
Russell says one thing you should do is get information about the coronavirus emergency from reliable sources….
{‘’Most of the people on Facebook do not have M.D. after their name. And, unfortunately that is not – it’s just not a good source of medical information. And it’s not a good source of information about the coronavirus,’’ said Russell.}
Russell notes the COVID-19 pandemic has brought sudden change to everyone’s life…
{Any kind of abrupt change can take some time to get used to. I think one of the…many challenges with this particular thing is the lack of control. – We like to be in charge, and we’re not in charge now,’’ said Russell.}
In addition to suggesting citizens get information about the health emergency from reliable sources, Russell also offered this advice on WDAN Radio’s Newsmakers program….
{‘’If you’ve got kids at home that you’re trying to home school, with the help of the school districts and what they’re doing – still establish a routine. Set some times that they’re going to be doing their school work. Set some times that they’ll have play,’’ said Russell. ‘’Set some times that you’ll be doing the routine chores around the house. And just that routine can help a lot in relieving and alleviating some of the stresses we find. It’s not going to do away with it,’’ added Russell, ‘’but it can help it.’’}
Jim Russell, Director of the Vermilion County Mental Health 708 Board, also suggested getting some exercise and sunshine. ‘’Becoming a couch potato is never a good thing for your physical or emotional health,’’ he added. And Russell says if you feel you are under too much stress and need to talk to someone, call Cross Point Human Services at (217) 442-3200. Cross Point is the adult crisis response agency for Vermilion County.
