((PKG))  MENTAL HEALTH AND COVID-19
((TRT: 3:17)
((Banner:  Self Care))
((Reporter/Camera/Producer:  Jeff Swicord))
((Map:  Washington, DC))  
((Main characters:  1 female))
((NATS))
((Danielle Blessing Taylor, Mental Health Therapist))
I wanted to be a therapist when I started going to college.  I thought I 
was going to be a teacher and then I took psychology 101.  And I 
really got fascinated by wanting to learn about people and how they 
work and why they do and say the things that they do and….
I think I have always been someone that people go to as a sounding 
board, as like a helper and I really enjoy it.  So, there wasn’t anything 
that specifically happened but just made me.  I’ve always wanted to 
help people.
((NATS))
((Danielle Blessing Taylor, Mental Health Therapist))
Everybody is working from home and getting to, some more time with 
their family.  So, the commute time that people used to have from 
work to decompress and to be able to just unplug and get away from 
all the stimulation is lost during the pandemic.  And so, people were 
experiencing a lot of stress, anxiety, a lot of difficulty trying to set 
routines in their life again.  
((NATS))
((Danielle Blessing Taylor, Mental Health Therapist))
It’s really helpful for people to set a routine in their life just like when 
they were working, they had a routine.  They would wake up at a 
specific time, exercise at a specific time, eat dinner at a specific time, 
all of those things trying to recreate that.  Also creating time where 
you are not thinking or talking about the pandemic or stress or 
anything negative for yourself and your relationship, I think is really 
helpful.  
((NATS/Music))
((Danielle Blessing Taylor, Mental Health Therapist))
So the stage that everyone’s in now is where do you go that’s safe for 
me and for my partner or whoever I am living with.  If people want to 
come into my home, you know, who should I allow?  And, should I 
wear a mask?  Shouldn’t I wear a mask?  Is the news accurate and 
what to listen to?  And so now that anxiety is ramping up.
And so, trying to find little pockets of what you can do to keep 
yourself in control of whether it be your mind and your body, 
breathing and things like that.  But then also switching gears and 
training the brain on how to think of what you can do instead of what 
you can’t do in your immediate future, in your life, in the moment.
((NATS))
((Danielle Blessing Taylor, Mental Health Therapist))
There’s a lot of financial anxiety right now.  People that have lost their 
job or who are being furloughed or who are being laid off. 
Right now, it is kind of a shock and a bit of the beginning stages.  So, 
they are not stressing too much about it.  They are just kind of taking 
it step by step.  The biggest thing is being patient, understanding that 
we are going through a really traumatic time and a crisis and also 
looking at the positives.  A lot of people are looking at, ‘Okay, so I’m 
not getting a job.  Let’s look at why that is a good thing right now.  I 
can have more time with my family I’ll never get.  I hopefully will never 
get this time again.’  And so, trying to be grateful and appreciating all 
those, the small things.
((NATS))