
Community Counts In Mental Health
The Quiet Riot Of Mental Health

“Come on, feel the noise
Girls, rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild
Wild, wild, wild”
Sudden Upheaval
The COVID-19 pandemic has created its own quiet riot—if a riot can mean turning the lives and livelihoods of entire communities upside-down.
For actors and musicians, almost all work suddenly ended in March 2020. Millions of performers lost their creative outlet, their source of income and their social circles all at once. Parts of who they are were stripped away in an instant.
Music-lovers could no longer dance stage-side. Parents found themselves juggling working from home while trying to homeschool their children. Service industry workers and many others not only lost their jobs, but their social outlets were zapped in a heartbeat.
Reacting To The Riot
It’s no surprise that since the pandemic began, mental health issues have skyrocketed everywhere, leaving people feeling isolated and detached from each other like never before. With rates of diagnosis rising in every age range, mental health is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide.
This unprecedented surge has left therapists exhausted and overworked, leading to ten-week waits for a telehealth appointment with a mental health practitioner who needs a break as bad as anyone.
This may not be an efficient approach to getting sick folks the help they need. So where do we turn for help?
Relief From The Riot

Community
We all need each other, and that is clearer now than ever. Community counts, and every member of The Longhairs community is blessed to have each other. The ideas shared here form bonds that lift darkened spirits.
Online connections amidst quarantines and lockdowns can make a difference, offering a reminder that we are not alone on this long and sometimes dark road.

Friendship
Friendship inspires, and it is more important than ever during this difficult period to somehow find ways to share connections with friends and loved ones.
Reach out and call someone. Even if you are not sure they want you to, it might be exactly what you both need. Express your appreciation to those you care most about. These meaningful connections and expressions amplify our humanity, offering much-needed light in our most dark and desperate days.
Help Is Available
This mental health crisis has led many to comtemplate suicide as a way out of their sorrow. If you've ever thought of harming yourself, or know someone who has, there are people who can help. And they won’t make you wait ten weeks.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has people standing by to offer expertise and encouragement to anyone who is struggling. Call 1-800-273-TALK and ask questions and get more information.

(Mental) Quiet Amidst The Riot
Twenty-two months into the pandemic with no clear end in sight, and who knows what a “new normal” is going to look like? So we have to use the resources available to us.
lessed to have this online community, we must support that with friendships and connections in our real-life communities. When we support and love each other, and stay connected, we give ourselves the best chance to survive and thrive.

Comments
Great article,
I’m sure you know “cum on feel the noise” was written by Slade in 73.
Hope to hang out this year and play some music!!
Thank you, Bradley! Yes, we sure do. They wrote a classic! But the reference for the blog mentioned when Quiet Riot released their version on the very relevantly named “Metal Health” album. Keep rockin’🤘
and you don’t know how long the hygienist tyranny could go in western europe: in France, during 3 times 2 months, you had to redact an attestation with a valuable reason to go away from your home ( tolerated 1 hour walking at less than 1/2 mile from your’s)…remember in this time, at San Diego, you went to the pub in your car to be served outside ( none pub neither restaurant opened in Europe during around 1 year)
in Belgium, the mask on the face everywhere during 10 months and forbidden receiving more than 2 different people at your home ( the same during one month) ( even if you have more than 2 teenagers……..love and tenderness forbidden, the old ladies denouncing the offenders for a big fine…), but during this time, all hairdresser were closed
but, now, those med dictators are facing a calm riot, mainly in France ( 2 days to multiply by 10 the number of covid cases… pure chance, and 40% people didn’t’ went to the doctor’s since a year); in Lille, the statue of Louis Pasteur was one night coronated as ” le roi des charlatans” ( charlatan’s king)
Spot on, Jefferson. Thank you for spotlighting these issues!