Our young people need hope and they need it ASAP.
I feel the most severely impacted sections of our society during this lockdown are our lonely elderly and our young people.
My opinion may not be yours and that’s OK.
I am writing this article for the sake of the young people I am working with who are struggling immensely with their mental health right now.
Imagine being in your 20’s right now.
Think back to the things you LIVED for.
Nightclubs, hanging out with your friends, meeting a new potential boyfriend/girlfriend, playing team sports, meals out, 21st and 18th birthday parties.
Now imagine going to ‘college’ on Zoom, being stuck at home 24/7 and having no festivals, parties or travel to look forward to.
I work with lots of young people in my psychotherapy practice and they are feeling hopeless. They feel they have nothing inspiring them or for them to look forward to.
I am begging the government ...For God's sake give our young people some chance of regaining their lives by ..
*Laying out possible dates for reopening the country. What is our EXIT plan?
All we hear about is lockdown extensions and uncertainty about summer and even next Christmas.
This has a profound impact on the mental health of everyone, including our young people.
*Stop the daily reporting of cases and the constant fear mongering. We have become addicted to doom and this helps no-one.
*On national airwaves, start allowing doctors to discuss and debate openly the treatments that are available for covid including hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. Both of these drugs are now backed by solid research in aiding those with covid to recover and stay out of our overburdened hospital system. When treatments are widely known to the public, hope will start to rise.
People cannot be strung along forever and apathy is growing by the day, particularly amongst our young people. It seems that the cure is worse than the disease. People are dying by suicide, missed cancer diagnoses, missed heart sceenings and the mental health and financial impact of this time for generations to come will be enormous. We are facing an avalanche of mental health issues for generations to come.
To any young person reading this, please know that many of us older people are speaking up for you and we do not want this to be your life. There will come a day when the people say enough is enough.
If your teen /young adult need support through this time, I can be contacted on 087 6836922.
