{"id":3111,"date":"2020-07-20T20:13:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T20:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/?p=3111"},"modified":"2021-05-20T20:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T20:14:08","slug":"overcoming-the-cold-voice-of-quarantine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/20\/overcoming-the-cold-voice-of-quarantine\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming The Cold Voice Of Quarantine"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Audio story by Mike Tripp for WMRA (NPR) radio.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

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\n \n Link to story on WMRA<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n [vc_column_text]For those with developmental disabilities or mental illness, the pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders have created isolation from services that normally help them live independently. In the next installment of WMRA\u2019s special series, Mental Health Matters<\/em>, Mike Tripp reports.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/f8explorer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TRIPP-MH-ISOLATION-READY.wav<\/a><\/audio>\n

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Dorothy Layman wears a mask due to the coronavirus. The pandemic isolated her from services that normally support her living independently in Harrisonburg, and from her job at Bridgewater College.<\/span>
(Photo by Mike Tripp)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Dorothy Layman lives in her own apartment in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

DOROTHY LAYMAN:  They were coming to help me clean my house and stuff and take me to the doctors until this virus came. I\u2019m the type I can do things on my own, but I need encouragement. With me, they just tell me, and I do it on my own. But they\u2019re there to help me if I need it.<\/p>\n

Layman lives on her own, but she also gets help from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board<\/a> and Pleasant View, Inc.<\/a>, a non-profit agency that supports independent living for people with developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n

LAYMAN: They even helped me get a job at Bridgewater College.<\/p>\n

Then the pandemic struck, and her world changed in the blink of an eye. Layman had to stay home, her work at the college shut down. Her case workers kept contact by phone, but otherwise she was on her own.<\/p>\n

LAYMAN: Right now my house is a mess, and I\u2019m like \u2026 ‘What do I do?’ You know, and I have to force myself to do some house cleaning. I just stayed home and did what they told me to do.<\/p>\n

Like many others forced to stay home and physically-distanced, Dorothy says the isolation is taking a toll.<\/p>\n

LAYMAN: Because I get anxiety attacks where being cooped up in my apartment, doing things for my neighbor and stuff.<\/p>\n

Some of Dorothy\u2019s anxiety comes from watching the news, and how she perceives it.  Adding to that anxiety, her fear of catching the virus \u2013 her neighbor downstairs wants to visit and share stories, but isn\u2019t as good at physical distancing as Dorothy would like. She says that anxiety came from both being alone and fear of catching the virus from someone else.<\/p>\n

STEPHEN BROCK: I don\u2019t think that any of us will return to what we remember as normal. I think we\u2019re going to have to create a new normal.<\/p>\n

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Stephen Brock works as a peer specialist with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board.<\/span>
CREDIT STEPHEN BROCK<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Stephen Brock also has his own place in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

BROCK: I\u2019ve had my bouts with bipolar and anxiety disorder. But I\u2019ve been doing fine with that over the last several years.<\/p>\n

Stephen controls it with medication. He\u2019s been doing so well that now he\u2019s able to help others with similar circumstances.<\/p>\n

BROCK: I work currently at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham [Community] Services Board as a peer specialist.<\/p>\n

He understands the challenges his clients face because he\u2019s lived it himself.<\/p>\n

BROCK: I\u2019m kinda on their level. I can share my experiences and what I did. And how I perceive things, and kind of guide them along.<\/p>\n

Early in the pandemic,<\/span> Brock says he knew the world would change dramatically. <\/p>\n

BROCK: It was maybe the third week of March, I took a client out, and we knew that the lockdown or the stay at home was coming in place. So, I took this client to an arts and craft store so they could get some drawing books on how to draw animals. Their plan was if they\u2019re going to be cooped up in their apartment, they\u2019re gonna try to get back into their artwork. Stuff to keep them busy.<\/p>\n

Being alone with only one\u2019s thoughts can be hard enough under the best of circumstances. Imagine if you are someone with schizophrenia who hears voices. Brock\u2019s experience working with schizophrenics helps him understand.<\/p>\n

BROCK: That combination with isolation can really be bad. As I\u2019ve learned, the voices can become so overpowering that you can\u2019t even listen to your music or watch TV. And with some schizophrenia, they\u2019re not thoughts. Those are real voices talking to you. Being away from people and not having contact, that can really, really be bad.<\/p>\n

Like many health care providers, Brock had to switch to more remote therapies.  He shifted away from in-person and used the phone instead.<\/p>\n

BROCK: I know a lot of clients who unfortunately don\u2019t have a car and they can\u2019t drive. And some of them have phobias. They either don\u2019t feel safe or they\u2019re paranoid or they get very antsy around crowds of people. Truly stuck at home.<\/p>\n

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Melissa Kinman works as a developmental disabilities support coordinator with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board.<\/span>
(Photo by Mike Tripp)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Melissa Kinman works as a developmental disability support coordinator, also at Harrisonburg-Rockingham CSB.  Her responsibilities include assessing individual needs, linking clients with services and then monitoring those services.<\/p>\n

MELISSA KINMAN: It has had a huge impact on the individuals that I\u2019ve worked with in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n

She says the pandemic-related business closures mean many people who need to work, can\u2019t.  And even if they can, it\u2019s harder to keep working.<\/p>\n

KINMAN: Because they don\u2019t have the supports of their typical job coaches.<\/p>\n

That means that Dorothy Layman, and many others like her, may face additional hurdles before resuming work.  As we put together this story, Bridgewater College was still deciding whether and how to reopen in the fall, but Dorothy hopes to return to work there.<\/p>\n

KINMAN: A lot of agencies are trying to be creative with the services they can offer to continue to connect with people and to continue to try to meet those needs. Some of the day support agencies have started doing Zoom sessions, so that individuals can continue to see their peers and the staff who they are so used to seeing on a regular basis.  <\/p>\n

Since Virginia entered Phase 3 of relaxed restrictions<\/a> on July 1st, Stephen Brock and other service providers have carefully begun to work with clients in person once more \u2026 with proper physical distancing of course.<\/p>\n

For WMRA News, I\u2019m Mike Tripp.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Audio story by Mike Tripp for WMRA (NPR) radio. [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]For those with developmental disabilities or mental illness, the pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders have created isolation from services that normally help them live independently. In the next installment of WMRA\u2019s special series, Mental Health Matters, Mike Tripp reports. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Dorothy Layman lives in her own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[99],"class_list":["post-3111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio-stories","tag-wmra"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f8explorer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TRIPP-MH-001.jpg?fit=1500%2C1088&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3111"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3118,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3111\/revisions\/3118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}