A battle with COVID-19 and mental health – KELOLAND.com

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) After testing positive for COVID-19, Sadie Swier quarantined for 14 days. Her case was mild, but she struggled with something else, her mental health.

Swier lives in Sioux Falls and is the Community Outreach Coordinator forDowntown Sioux Falls Inc. as well as the Social Media Manager for Lost&Found.

Lost&Found is a nonprofit organization that is aimed for people ages 14 through 35 to provide resources for them to combat suicide and mental health issues. While talking to her peers about her battle with COVID-19, the discussion about the mentality behind the virus came up as well.

Lost&Found holds a weekly series called Voices of Resilience. Swier is this weeks speaker and says its important to talk about the mental challenges around having the new coronavirus.

You never really understand exactly how its going to affect your mental health unless you go through it, unless youre the one who has COVID-19. Of course, I knew of people who had it, and I didnt really think anything of it, but personally I had a mild case physically of COVID-19. But, the mental and emotional challenge was more difficult for me than actually having COVID-19. So, I think its important because there seems to be an attitude or stereotype that its never going to be me because thats what I thought. And so, when people are walking around and think its not that big of a deal its important to link COVID-19 with mental health as well as physical health, Swier said.

The discussion with Swier happened at 2:00 p.m. via Facebook Live on the Lost&Founds page. Many topics were touched on as far as dealing with mental health challenges when it comes to COVID-19, work and relationships.

In terms of COVID-19 and how I handled it, I think, in my mind I internalized so much of it and I was thinking a lot of self protection and just thinking about myself in hindsights 2020. But, I know I made mistakes in how I handled it in terms of talking to the people that I was with or handling it afterwards, Swier said.

Swier said going through two weeks of isolation was extraordinarily hard for her because shes an extroverted person. However, she said she took this as a time to do some reflecting.

Ive been doing a lot of self work and Ill be open about this as well, through this experience, Ive always thought about doing this, but this last month help me realize I need some help, so I actually scheduled my first therapy appointment, Swier said.

She said mental help and health is something that more people should be talking about.

And hopefully we get to a point where it is something that is a more normal conversation or something that isnt as stigmatized, Swier said.

Through this experience, Swier said she took the opportunity of being alone as a time of growth.

Growing by myself and being able to rely on myself and really learning to like myself again was something that I became more resilient in and thats what I become better from this experience as and thats what Im still learning about, Swier said.

You can see more videos about mental health in Lost&Founds series Voices of Resilience. This Facebook Live event happens every Thursday in the early to mid-afternoon.

See the original post:

A battle with COVID-19 and mental health - KELOLAND.com