It has been emotionally exhausting to be a mental health therapist this past year! Actually, it’s been emotionally exhausting being a human. As a psychologist, I have never before experienced a time where I have felt so many depending on me, while I try to navigate similar circumstances to the people I work with. And I have felt so drained after hours in front of the computer screen doing teletherapy that I have honestly found no energy to sit and write in this blog – until today.
Without going into details in this post, I will note that Blake and Michael are back in our home with the hubby and myself. What the future holds for them, and so many young adults I know and work with, is still to be written. For now, Michael is completing a graduate program from a distance, and Blake…. Well, Blake returned home wanting to go into therapy (not for OCD; for something else), and we are supporting him in doing that.
Now, here’s something to note: when you are a mental health professional, you cannot be therapist to your own family members. First, it’s actually considered a professional no-no. At the same time, your spouse and your children absolutely do not want you digging into their psyches. I mean, really, who among us wants our parents probing our emotional health? Makes sense, yes?
Oh, and also, the more you know about a subject, the more your family has absolutely no interest in hearing what you know. Yes. It’s true. I have specialized in anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder for over a decade, write articles on these subjects, teach professionals at workshops, educate the public…BUT I KNOW NOTHING! If I even move to share information about anxiety or OCD among family, it is of no interest. So, I have learned (as my mental health professional colleagues have) to listen to my family, and even my friends, talk about their symptoms while I keep my mouth shut. I offer no recommendations or information unless I am specifically asked, lest it I be reminded, “Stop playing psychologist with me!” (and, yes, you do detect some frustration there – it’s like I know the coolest information, but no one wants to hear it. I digress.).
Anyhow, this state of “Mom-knows-nothing-about-anything-that could-be-helpful-to-me” made something that happened today all the more stunning.
“Mom…” Blake says. “How was it that I used to deal with intrusive thoughts when I was in ERP therapy for my OCD? I’ve been trying to purposely think the thoughts, but I’m only getting more uncomfortable.”
“Hmmm. Tell me a little bit more.”
“Well, I couldn’t sleep last night in part because of the thoughts, so I tried to think them, but it just felt worse. I didn’t feel better.”
“Would you be willing to tell me a little more, or would you like me to connect you with a colleague who can help you sort this out?” I ask.
“I’d like to see if you and I can figure out what I’m doing wrong,” he says.
“Of course,” I say. “I’m heading out to take something to Grandma. When I get back, you let me know when you’re ready. Set aside time with me.”
And I fully expected that would be that. When I returned home, though, Blake found me again. He actually wanted to learn what I know! And so we sat down. I was able to share the little understood secret of OCD: if you practice exposures with the goal of making your thoughts or discomfort go away, it will backfire on you. Your brain is too smart. OCD already tells you that you can’t handle being uncomfortable and that you’d better do something to make yourself feel better – and that is where it traps you.
“So, my job is to practice getting good at being uncomfortable,” Blake deducts.
“Yes,” I say, “but you have to have a really good reason that it’s worth doing that because why do it otherwise?”
And together we find his “why” and we create a mass of exposures he can use. He picks one he’s going to try over the next week. And then he says THIS:
“Thank you, Mom. It’s so nice having a therapist for a mother.”
The hubby and I are in the back yard having a moment alone when we notice Michael and Blake coming out the door. Their faces look purposeful. Michael’s looks gleeful.
“Mom, Dad – We’re moving!”
We’re not suprised by the announcement. The two have already been talking for over a week about driving across country, getting an apartment for a few months, and creating a small social bubble with a couple of friends Michael went to college with. It’s been an uncertain time for two young adults living in a pandemic. Job opportunities have been sparse for Michael (a recent college grad). What he can find he is way over-qualified for. They’ve both felt isolated. Fears have abounded: Will we ever find work? Maybe we’ll never have relationships or families of our own. What is our future?
Michael has also been worried about his brother. He sees him frequently stuck at home, sleeping way too much, struggling with a view of the world that lacks joy. He thinks time away is just what his brother needs. And one more thing: he adores Blake.
“There is no one else in the world I can better imagine doing this with,” he tells his brother.
Blake is uncertain. He worries about the money it will cost. He worries he won’t finish the book he’s about thirty pages from completing. He worries he won’t like living nearly two thousand miles from home. Nevertheless, he agrees to go – and he almost instantly regrets the decision. But OCD has made him a man of his word. If he makes a commitment, there is no gray. There’s no re-evaluation, no backing out.
“Please? I want to come with you.”
On a Sunday morning, almost two weeks ago, they leave our driveway in a car their grandmother has lent them. One of our dogs repeatedly tries to stow away with them, but he doesn’t succeed. Two pieces of my heart drive away. I’m happy and I’m sad.
The photographs from the road tell an adventurous story. Two brothers on the road together. The phone call when they arrive at their new apartment reveals that Blake has been nauseated since he left. Anxiety has taken over. He immediately is offered a job at a book store, which he takes. It’s his first “real” job. His nausea does not abate. His mind is a storm of unwanted thoughts.
Michael, awash in pride over having single-handedly installing wifi in their new place, is an incredible source of support for his brother, even as he deals with the reality that moving across the country is not as romantic in reality as it is in fantasy (friends aren’t as available as they promised they’d be; many hours are spent pacing the apartment floor, jobs are still difficult to come by). He drives his brother to and from his new job. He buys him ice cream to settle his stomach.
Blake wonders if he’ll last the three months he committed to. So does Michael. The hubby and I remind them that doing new things is hard, and to stay focused on the moment. One moment at a time. One hard thing at a time.
When I first began to prepare my practice for the possibility of a pandemic, I failed to imagine the potential impact on my own emotional well-being.
In February, I heard the murmurs. On the fringes of my OCD support group some members were talking about their “novel coronavirus” fears. I chalked it up to OCD playing its tricks. Surely we had nothing to fear from this faraway virus. In early March, I shared with patients my plan to go virtual if the virus made it necessary to close my office. I never imagined I’d actually be doing it, but the American Psychological Association had recommended that psychologists have a plan. I’m a rule follower and it seemed prudent, so I made a plan. Just over a week later, I saw my last patient in the office and was fully a telehealth provider by the next day. Five months later, I’m still providing OCD and anxiety disorder treatment from a little corner in my home.
“So, what’s the big deal?” one might wonder. Indeed, I am lucky – blessed even. I’m in a career where I can work from home, as long as I have a secure internet connection and a private space. And, hey, research demonstrates that OCD treatment via telehealth can be very successful. I’m luckier still that I already did some of my work via secure video, seeing patients who didn’t have an OCD/anxiety disorder specialist in their corner of the world (actually, not the world – just their corner of the state I’m licensed in, but I digress). I didn’t have to make the switch to telehealth overnight without previous experience or training. Great, right? Grab the morning coffee and head to the office in the corner. No commute.
Sure, there’s the adjustment to the new working setting and the unintended consequences of that shift (can everyone say “chronic pain from poor ergonomics?”). That part, I’m dealing with. The unexpected part, the part I think the mental health provider community is going to be dealing with for an unforeseen amount of time, is the unprecendented demand – and the long term toll on our well-being. You see, here’s what happened: my state went into shelter-at-home. Most of my patients stayed in treatment; a few decided to take a break and wait things out. There were crickets – silence – where there used to be new referrals. My free support group went virtual and saw better attendance than ever – with the same faithful attendees. We fumbled through this together. Many of my OCD patients seemed better prepared than most to deal with the newly-named COVID-19, their skills at coping with uncertainty being an asset. All in all, it was relatively quiet, minus the shifting and adjustment. It was actually eerily quiet – for a bit. Maybe I should’ve taken note of what happens before a tsunami – the drawback of water from the shore before the deluge.
An Emotional Toll
It started with patients who were on an “as-needed only” basis requesting to come back in for regular sessions. The stress of the ongoing isolation and the unknowns taxing their coping skills (as I write this, on a weekend morning, yet another of these has called asking to come back). Then those who’d taken a break mid-treatment during the shutdown wanted to return. And then came the new referrals, people who I’d never seen before, calling and pleading for help. Struggles with their mental health that had been manageable before were overwhelming them now. It continued until my practice was bursting at the seams, until I just could not fit anyone anywhere else.
My support group went similarly. In non-COVID times, one or two new inquiries in a month was a lot. I began to see one a week, then a few a week, then eight in four days. I couldn’t keep up with screening the new referrals. I wondered if the group and its community feel could withstand the constant flow of new attendees. I started to feel burned out.
I’m normally known as the therapist who connects people with therapists (“Call Dr. Angie. She’ll be able to help you find someone good.”). I don’t like to hear that a person in distress has been unable to find a mental health professional who can see them. I listen to them. I find out their needs and I take it upon myself to find at least a few therapists in my network who are open and ready for their call. In recent weeks, I grew weary of the constant need. I took a step I’ve never taken before in my nearly two-and-a-half decades in private practice. A week ago, I changed my voice recording: “I am unable to return calls from new referrals.” It kind of devastated me to do that. The group followed on its heels two days ago. Now a message about my group reads, “This group is currently not accepting new members. Please check back in the future.”
It feels like I’ve been in a shipwreck. People all around me are drowning – or at least feel they are. They see me as the stronger swimmer – the one who can bring them to safety. They reach out with their hands. Their voices beseech me to help them. But there are endless numbers of them. I can’t see them all, but I can hear them. What they don’t realize is that on top of reaching out and pulling person after person to safety, I’m in the water, too. And I’m swimming and dog paddling as best as I can – and I’m getting exhausted. But, still, they call out. I want to help them all. I don’t want to watch anyone drown. But if I keep going, I may drown myself. I feel beyond torn. What choice do I make? Save one more? Rest, so I can help more in the future? And if I do rest, how long will I be haunted by the sounds of drowning voices, pleading to be rescued?
Looking After Our Mental Health Providers
I’ve come to believe that my experience is not at all unusual among my colleagues. I frequently see shared experiences of being “exhausted” and “burnt out.” Our practices are brimming with need. Many of those who come to see us have reduced or, increasingly, limited ability to pay us. We are in this field to help. It flows through our veins like our lifeblood. We respond to those who are struggling. But now we are struggling, too.
In the past, a mental health professional experiencing exhaustion, overwhelm, or burnout would pull back, take care of themself, perhaps even see a mental health provider. But now our fellow mental health providers are coping with the same situation. We’re all in this pandemic together. We are all being called upon to do more. We’ve been asked to see first responders who are coping with the distress of caring for the ill. I’d venture to say that we are the forgotten first responders, the ones for whom the flow of the affected is not letting up. Not now. Not in the foreseeable future. And I am fearful of what may become of mental health if our professionals stay on the current path, veering ever-closer to mass burnout.
I do not have answers; just thoughts about the direction we might go in. I know that I cannot help every single person in need right now. If I’m to go on to help more people, I’m going to have to step back and do what is necessary to build my own emotional strength back up. A mental health provider is ethically bound to step back when they see their own emotional health suffering. We must be in a good place to help our patients get to a better one than they are in.
To my fellow mental health providers: I see you out there. I know your level of caring and dedication. I know the need out there calls to you. The need will far outlast the physical distancing measures. Just remember that you are needed in as healthy a place as you can be in. It’s not a case of “better to give compromised mental health services than no services at all.”
It’s been suggested that the medical community look at this pandemic as a marathon, not a sprint. I suggest mental health providers look at it as something else – a relay race, perhaps. None of us can marathon forever, but maybe, just maybe, if we can keep passing the baton to one another, and give each other a break – even reach out to one another for reprieve and support – we can go the distance. For sure, we will have stories to tell, and regrets of what we could not do, but the work we do is far too important for us all to burn out at once. Obviously, I wrote this because I am struggling. Now to take my own advice.
OCD In The Family 