Volunteering During a Pandemic- C. Powell

Posts

March Blog Post

Total Volunteer Hours for the Semester = 6.5 hours Completed this month= 0 hours Over the past month, I have neglected my normal monthly volunteer opportunities in order to place a more dedicated focus on my studies since the NBME is quickly approaching. I have found that group studying has been a rather effective method of reviewing the vast amount of topics that we have covered over the last two semesters in Medical Pharmacology. Below is a picture of me and one of the people in my study group as we prep for the NBME. I wish that I had been able to dedicate more time to studying for the NBME, but due to a list of mental health issues, I found it extremely difficult to effectively study for it. It is interesting though while we were learning about the drugs for antidepressants I was actually experiencing many of the different side effects of escitalopram as I am apparently extremely sensitive to that particular drug and gained a deeper understanding of how it feels to be on those d

February- Volunteering with Crisis Textline

Total Volunteer Hours for the Semester = 6.5 hours Volunteer Hours Completed in the Month of February = 4 hours This month I continued my work with the Crisis Textline. This month most of my time was spent talking with people was focused more on determining what resources I had at hand that could benefit these texters more so than typical coping skills, such as writing, music, talking to those they are close with. This month the people I spoke with were more directly impacted by COVID-19 and were trying to cope with the long-term effects that the pandemic can have on one’s mental health and personal relationships. One of the people that I talked with is a frontline worker who is feeling the stress of working in a pandemic while also balancing their mental illness, but I was able to provide them with a resource associated with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which will teach this person further coping skills and strategies similar to those that a therapist might teach you. Talking

January- Volunteering with Crisis Textline

Volunteers Hours Completed in January 2021: 2.5hrs During this month I continued my previous work with the Crisis Textline and the texters that I interacted with this month tended to have a similar theme of self-harm. I try to go into these conversations without making any assumptions or judgements towards the texters and their situations. This month I had to take the time to learn about a particular coping mechanism that a texter was using, which I was less familiar with and they had experienced judgement about from those close to them. In this moment it was not my job to critique or give my opinion to the texter regarding their chosen coping mechanism, which from what I was told was not doing any physical harm to them. Instead, I had to maintain focus on what it was the texter was seeking out help with and to then provide them with the support and resources needed so that they felt like they could move forward in their situation. It is important in moments such as these that w

November- Volunteering with Crisis Textline

During the month of November, I continued my work with the Crisis Textline. Due to the upcoming holidays, there are usually spikes in the number of texters that use the text-line and the added impacts of COVID-19 this year means that there will likely be even higher numbers of people texting in due to the higher stress levels and impacts that living through a pandemic can have on a person. I conducted most of my volunteer hours after Thanksgiving and I saw extremely high numbers of people waiting to speak to a crisis counselor, along with extensive waiting times. Most of my time this month was helping people come up with coping mechanisms or plans to deal with feelings of loneliness or relationship issues that are exacerbated at the moment due to the holiday season and social isolation caused by COVID-19. This has become one of my favorite volunteer activities because it truly helps me learn how to assist someone in creating their own solutions rather than me just saying what I beli

October- Volunteering with Crisis Textline

This month I opted to continue my work with the Crisis Textline and completed another four hours of volunteer work with this organization. As a reminder from my post from September, the Crisis Textline is an organization that works to provide aid to those that feel like they are in crisis. This organization defines a crisis as anything that our texter feels is a crisis, this allows us to work with people going through a wide range of difficulties in life. This month I worked with people who were going through a topic that I had yet to work with anyone on yet. The impacts of living in a pandemic. Although people across the world have felt the impacts of COVID-19 it was a different experience to try and help someone cope with a situation where isolation is a key part of remaining healthy. I was able to relate to this texter on a different level then I have with many other texters, sure I have related to those who also experience anxiety and depression, but there were always factors key

September - Volunteering with the Crisis Textline

Since beginning the Pharmacology program I have not had the ability to continue volunteering with the Crisis Textline due to the time constraints that come with being in a part of such a fast-paced program. Although the pandemic has prevented us from being able to partake in the volunteer component of this program in the traditional way where we are directly impacting the New Orleans community, it has given me the opportunity to pursue one of my favorite volunteer activities again. The Crisis Textline is an organization a free service for those who feel like they are in a state of crisis. This state of crisis is whatever the texter defines it as. Common states of crisis that people are text about involve bullying, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, depression, and anxiety. As a volunteer, I work with these texters to help create a safety plan and plan on how to cope with their current situations in life. If applicable I am also able to provide texters with resources where they