Thoughts On Mental Health Day & the Lingering Effects of Covid-19

Living with mental illness of any kind is akin to living with a metaphorical and invisible weight on your shoulders.

I should know, depression has been my constant companion for many years. Adding Covid-19 to mix creates the perfect storm of a physical and mental health crisis.

Today is World Mental Health Day.

Like many of you, I have been home nearly 24/7 for the last seven months. Though I am grateful that my life has not been completely upended, it would be foolish to ignore the changes that the virus has brought on.

Before March, I had no problem with being busy. Going out and being social was the antidote to the daily battle with depression. Now it feels like the depression has won out. Other than taking care of my weekly errands, I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want to stay in and sleep.

If there any silver lining, it is that these last few months have finally forced us to examine how we treat mental illness and those who suffer. Perhaps when all is said and done, mental health will finally get the respect and treatment that it deserves.

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Is the Attempted Kidnapping of Gov Gretchen Whitmer a Sign of Things to Come?

The 25th Amendment is clear when it comes to the peaceful transfer of power.

However, that does not mean that you know who understands or respects what our founders laid out when it comes to transitioning between Presidential administrations.

When Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that there was a failed plot to kidnap and murder her, she blamed you know who.

The question we have to ask, is this a sign of things to come?

I would argue that it is. As far back as I can remember, the more extremist among us were pushed back to the corners of our society. But you know who has given them the impetus to become more mainstream. When asked at the Presidential debate two weeks ago if he would call out White Supremacist groups, his response was “stand back and stand by”.

Thankfully, the authorities were able to stop the men before they could act on their plan. What bothers me is that things like this do not and should not happen in a thriving democracy. Will there political and social disagreements? Of course. We in the United States hear in the news about political uprisings and underhanded methods of stealing political power. But they happen in other countries. Knowing that it happened within our borders is a chilling message about the direction this country is going in.

You know who claims that he respects this country and everything it represents. He talks a good game, but his money is never his mouth is. We need a President who puts his money where his mouth is. That President is Joe Biden.

#BidenHarris2020