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On Our Minds is the name of KERA's mental health news initiative. The station began focusing on the issue in 2013, after the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Coverage is funded in part by the Donna Wilhelm Family Fund and Cigna.

Two years after COVID-19 arrived in North Texas, here's how to process the change and loss

A portrait of therapist Griselda Coreas, sitting at her large, wooden desk, a maroon laptop off to one side. A blooming, colorful bouquet frames the left side of the photo, with an "adulting today" sign in front of it.
Griselda Coreas Landor
In March 2020, Griselda Coreas Landor was still a graduate student, finishing up her degree. "It's very different to be on the other side," said Coreas Landor. "The pandemic really exasperated a lot of the issues that were underlying, that were overlooked."

The first recorded case of COVID-19 in North Texas was March 9, 2020. Since then, more than 5.4 million Texans have had the virus, and close to 85,000 Texans have died. Everything from people's jobs to their communities have changed since the pandemic started.

The two year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought up feelings of anxiety, exhaustion and loss for therapist Griselda Coreas Landor's clients. She said this is completely normal.

"When you sit back and look at the pandemic, that was very traumatic for everyone, and people aren't aware of the signs of what it means to experience trauma," Coreas Landor said.

Oftentimes it shows up in clients as a lack of energy, said the Frisco therapist, "when there's something really interfering and inhibiting" people's ability to get things done.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in multiple reports over the past two years that the COVID-19 pandemic caused increases in substance use and worse mental health outcomes.

"It's such a common, reoccurring theme to hear, 'I just wish things were back to normal. When are things gonna go back to normal?,'" Coreas Landor said of her clients. "The reality is that things are not going to go back to normal. It's a new norm, it's a new adjustment. We as humans do not do well with life adjustments."

'Radical acceptance' and making space for self-care

She works with clients to practice "radical acceptance," which is a therapeutic technique to challenge negative beliefs and recognize the reality of situations without judgement.

"What is in your power? What is in your control?," Coreas Landor said. "Because you can't control what's happening out there. But what you can control and focus on is your life, to make sure that you're providing yourself with whatever it is that you can."

Instructing clients on kindness and compassion helped her recognize how the pandemic had changed her own life.

"I'm a single mom. In the middle of a pandemic, I was trying to build my career, trying to excel and navigate while also being a mother," Coreas Landor said. "Taking care of myself wasn't easy. I got my own therapist. I got my own psychiatrist. I think it shined a light on me that I can't just be an advocate for mental health, and supply my own services, without preaching what I say."

She encourages people, especially as they are processing difficult emotions and life changes, to recognize what they need to take care of themselves. That could be getting enough sleep, taking a walk, cooking a meal or practicing mindfulness, like meditation. The pandemic brought to light a lot of mental health issues, but Coreas Landor said this can be an opportunity for growth.

"Everyone has a right to be heard, to process, to go through whatever it is that they experience," Coreas Landor said. "There's no better time to say, this is what I want for me and now's the time."

Got a tip? Email Elena Rivera at erivera@kera.org. You can follow Elena on Twitter @elenaiswriting.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.

Elena Rivera is the health reporter at KERA. Before moving to Dallas, Elena covered health in Southern Colorado for KRCC and Colorado Public Radio. Her stories covered pandemic mental health support, rural community health access issues and vaccine equity across the region.