8/5/2021
Greetings Beloved's,
Today I was moved as a Pastor and Parent as well as a community leader and founder of a Non Profit Organization .
To pen an open letter regrading our current state of mental health during this pandemic.
I will be coming from a spiritual perspective on this matter as a Spiritual leader.
The spirit of fear has gripped our Nations worldwide and it has wrecked havoc on our mind, body and soul.
The fear of the unknown and all the uncertainness that comes with it.
For instance will I get sick or how can we survive this pandemic?
Fear of losing a loved one or burying more loved ones.
Biblically speaking fear is a spirit that has a tight grip and it can almost cause one to be in a state of paralysis.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath, not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.
It is fear that causes frustration because of our inability to control or protect ourselves and loved ones from something we have yet to fully understand.
Frustration and fear leads to a wide range of emotions from anger to panic, desperation and hopelessness.
I would like to speak on the latter for a minute. Hopelessness the feeling or a state of despair, lack of hope.
Spiritually speaking this is the time to pray and what is prayer?
Prayer is a conversation with God expressing your worries and frustration to God.
And leaving God with a request from you.
Dear God,
At this very moment I am overwhelmed with worry and fear. I ask Heavenly Father that you watch over me and my family and friends as we go through this pandemic together for we are reminded that we are not alone for you O Lord are with us.
Amen
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Meditation focusing your thoughts on things above not on the problem.
Read the Bible and a positive self help book. To keep your thoughts in a good place.
Replace Negative activities for Positive ones
Enjoy the outdoors
Go walking or jogging ,fishing and play tennis
Eat Healthy
Fresh vegetables , proteins, drink plenty of water
Be Thankful
We must remember everyday of our life is a precious gift from God. We must not abuse it nor neglect to show God how much we appreciate seeing another day.
We must also show love to one another not hate but love.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
We must take every precaution to protect ourselves Spiritually and Naturally against this and any other Virus or Disease.
Please take your vitamin supplements and wear your mask and wash your hands regularly.
I found a few articles about the affect of living in a Pandemic
Author: Travis D. Westbrook, PhD
Your anger may be fueled by stress
First and foremost, increased frustration and irritability can be a common reaction to stress. With the current pandemic, many aspects of our daily lives are more stressful than usual. For example, grocery lines may be slower, work tasks may require quick adaptation and time may be increasingly devoted to new roles or obligations brought about by social distancing measures, such as child care or homeschooling. At the same time, many of us likely have decreased access to activities that help us cope with stress in healthy and familiar ways. For example, if activities such as going to the gym, going out to dinner with friends or shopping with family aren’t accessible in their traditional ways, you may feel less able to rely on your typical outlets for stress. This may lead to coping with stress in other ways, such as lashing out at others. There may be good intentions behind some of our frustration toward our loved ones. Often when we care for others and their well-being, we find ourselves frustrated if they engage in activities we perceive as unsafe. For example, if a loved one is taking social distancing measures less seriously than we’d like, we may feel angry and upset toward them because we care about their well-being.
For example, if activities such as going to the gym, going out to dinner with friends or shopping with family aren’t accessible in their traditional ways, you may feel less able to rely on your typical outlets for stress. This may lead to coping with stress in other ways, such as lashing out at others.
There may be good intentions behind some of our frustration toward our loved ones. Often when we care for others and their well-being, we find ourselves frustrated if they engage in activities we perceive as unsafe. For example, if a loved one is taking social distancing measures less seriously than we’d like, we may feel angry and upset toward them because we care about their well-being.
RECENT NEWS EVENTS
A group of six McDonald's workers is calling on the company to add better safety protocols.
The restaurant has called 911 on average once every four days, according to a complaint with Cal/OSHA seen by Insider.
Violence and outburst against workers are partially a product of anxiety from COVID.
Customer violence is a major concern across the retail industry, and it has only gotten worse during the pandemic.
A Service Employees International Union survey of 4,187 McDonald's workers in the summer of 2020 found that nearly half of respondents said that they had been physically or verbally assaulted.
The pandemic has caused fear and anxiety in people, activating the amygdala, the fight-or-flight part of the brain, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School Luana Marques reported.
Disputes over mask mandates comprise 75% of FAA’s unruly-passenger complaints on planes
KEY POINTS
Since the beginning of this year, the FAA has received more than 3,200 reports of unruly behavior by passengers.
Roughly 75% of the cases stem from passengers who refuse to comply with federal mask mandates.
The FAA has handed out fines to unruly travelers totaling $682,000 this year alone and has identified potential violations in 540 cases, initiating enforcement action in 83.
(NBCNC) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has seen what it's calling a staggering spike in the number of unruly and dangerous behavior on airlines.
Typically, the FAA sees about 100-150 formal cases of bad behavior on airlines here in the U.S., but since the start of the year, the number of cases has jumped to around 1,300.
That number is even more dramatic because the number of passengers on planes is lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Most of the episodes revolve around mask-wearing, but the incidents range from verbal abuse of other passengers or flight attendants to physical altercations.
Drug Overdoses Increasing and Accelerating During COVID-19 Pandemic
Drug overdoses have been increasing and accelerating since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.
Nationwide suspected overdoses soared 18% in March compared with last year, 29% in April and 42% in May, according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, a federal program that collects data from ambulance teams, police and hospitals.
Around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 per cent from 2010. That’s among the key findings of the latest annual report released on Thursday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which also provides an overview of global drug markets, as well as their impact on people’s health and livelihoods.
Apostle Simmons
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