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<\/p>\nWhen the Omicron variant started emerging around the country, Registered Nurse Currine Smith flashed back to the despair she felt at the beginning of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
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Now entering the third year of COVID, she describes feeling a sense of dread and anxiety when walking into work. \u201cThe scene is quite grim,\u201d she said of the Level I trauma hospital where she works in Delaware. \u201cPeople feel like the light at the end of the tunnel doesn\u2019t exist anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many medical workers like her are exhausted from working through the pandemic.<\/p>\n
With variants straining short-staffed facilities across the country, some on the front lines are experiencing added physical, mental and emotional stress.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling burnout,\u201d said Smith, who saw her medical floor skyrocket with COVID cases amid the current surge. \u201cThe stress and anxiety I feel wears down on me mentally, emotionally and physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
What pulled her out of despair in the early phases of the pandemic continues to keep her afloat. She credits her faith as one of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses for helping her and other health care workers in her religious community endure the ongoing toll of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemembering how my faith and relationship with God has sustained me thus far helps me to continue,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
She also prays regularly and leans on fellow believers for support. \u201cI pray for you every single day,\u201d said one friend. Without hesitation, her family of faith mobilized with phone calls and texts, and even delivered food to her doorstep to help her get through the crises and not give up.<\/p>\n
Smith gets a weekly dose of that encouragement and support at her congregation meetings, held on a virtual platform since the pandemic started.<\/p>\n
\u201cVirtual association with those who love and support me helps me to cope and remain joyful through these challenges,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
American psychological and psychiatric associations, while not advocating or endorsing any specific religion, acknowledge the role spirituality and religious faith can play in coping with distress and trauma.<\/p>\n
Lawrence Onoda, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Mission Hills, California, noted some ways spirituality can help, including giving people \u201ca positive hope and meaning toward life, comfort by looking for answers and strength from a higher power, and a collective shared experience of support and community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith finds joy in passing along to others what has helped her. She joins friends online to write or call people in the community with a message of hope from the Scriptures.<\/p>\n
She recently participated in a special worldwide campaign to offer the article, \u201cA Better World is Near<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a>,\u201d from jw.org<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a>, the official website of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses.<\/p>\n \u201cSharing that message was a constant reminder that the suffering I see in the hospital is only temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n Jw.org<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a> offers a collection of practical articles like \u201cHow to Beat Pandemic Fatigue<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a>\u201d and short comforting videos such as \u201cThe Resurrection \u2013 Soon a Reality<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\u201d It\u2019s a free resource that Smith recommends to everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cThe information is always timely and the articles about how to handle stress have given me invaluable pointers on coping skills,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been a source of comfort for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n