by Larry Albrecht on April 19, 2021

This past year has challenged us in ways we never expected. When this season of COVID is in our rearview mirror, many of us will be left with the trauma due to the fear, anxiety, and isolation we all experienced. Itai Danovitch, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai, has said, "Historically, we know that pandemics and other public health crises, much like natural disasters, have a lasting impact." 1. 

The pandemic has impacted the whole family in ways we are just now starting to understand. Suzanne Silverstein, MA, ATR, founding director of the Psychological Trauma Center and Share and Care program at Cedars-Sinai, and an expert in psychological trauma, says, '"Everyone is struggling right now, but for these families, the loss of structure and routine can be especially daunting." 2 Families have had to take on the burden of homeschooling their children. Many people in the mental health field are concerned about the long-term effects that kids are continuing to face due to the isolation and disconnection from their communities.  

I can tell you that many people I talked with in the past year are not doing okay. COVID was a disruption that affected everything. It challenged marriages, our physical health, financial well-being, and so on. People are reporting drinking more alcohol and using medications and drugs to cope. If there was something unhealthy in our lives, COVID magnified it 1000%. Disruptions do that.  

We have two options for managing this trauma. The first is to ignore it, which is often our default response. We put that trauma in a little box and pack it away in our brains. That works in the short-term, but it won't want to stay there, and it leaks back into our lives, often manifesting in relationship struggles or increased self-medication. 

Option two is to have a plan to process the trauma healthily. It means we need to talk about it. The book of Proverbs tells us,

31 If you listen to constructive criticism,

    you will be at home among the wise.

32 If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself;

    but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

33 Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom;

    humility precedes honor.

Proverbs 15:31-33 NLT

Scripture helps us understand that through discipleship, we regain our footing with wisdom and correction. That is at the heart of Choose Recovery. 

Choose Recovery, or CR as we call it, is a place to work on all of our struggles, the hurts and traumas in our lives, the unhealthy ways we are trying to manage our pain, and the negative thinking that destroys our peace.  

We are back to meeting in person. If you would like to know more about Choose Recovery, reach out to me at or call me at 423-477-2229. 

  1. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/long-term-impacts-of-covid-19-your-mental-health/#:~:text=Cedars%2DSinai%20Experts%20Say%20Self,of%20grief%2C%20stress%20and%20anxiety.
  2. ibid. 

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