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SEPTEMBER 24-26, 2024
Austin Convention Center - Austin, Texas

The Leaflet

Check in on others!

February 14, 2023

Around New Year’s, someone sent me a link to psychologist Naomi Holdt’s Facebook Post about why we are all feeing so utterly exhausted.  It resonated with me and as I shared it with several different friend and family group texts the response was overwhelmingly “oh that is why I feel this way”.  Her primary point was that we all were on high alert and in crisis mode for 2 years, and then leapt back into life in 2022 trying to make up for lost time in every single area of our lives without having properly processed the trauma of what we’d been through.

In Massachusetts, where I live, since New Year’s there have been quite a few high-profile tragedies that involved people killing their own family members and in some cases children.  When these happen so close to your home it’s very hard not to be impacted.  All of the cases have of course in one way or another involved someone with mental health issues that either were not treated or treated incorrectly and lead to unimaginable results. In every instance, the law enforcement officers reporting on what happened have ended by saying something to the effect of if you need help there are resources and if you are worried about someone, please check in.

Over the years at the Symposium, we have shined a light on mental health with sessions about design and construction of behavioral health facilities, keynote speeches from individuals who have survived tragedy and the battle they faced mentally as well as physically and by naming non-profit organizations who bolster awareness surrounding mental health as our charitable organization. We will continue to do our part in bringing these discussions to our annual event.  We will continue to drive the conversation within the industry on creating better behavioral health environments.

Today, however, though I’m focusing more on all of you as individuals. It’s been a long few years.  All of you who work in healthcare supporting the front-line workers;  who had your kids at home for months on end and now back in the classroom and maybe still feeling the effects; whose parents are aging and their care is now falling on you; who have so much work but not enough resources to do it whether that be people or supplies; or countless other stress points.  Be kind to yourself.  Check in on others.  Especially those that are seemingly strong and always in control.

Be well,
Jenabeth

Jenabeth Ferguson
Vice President, Symposium Director
Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo

P.S. Have a thought about the Symposium? Please feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].