in the past week both a front line physician and an emt took their own lives. >> dr. lorena breene died by suicide. >> it broke my heart. this is where it got her to. >> alcohol sales are up as are stress levels. feelings of depression and hopelessness. >> life before coronavirus was stressful enough to keep crisis and suicide prevention hotlines busy, but now the virus is taking an even bigger mental toll on our health. >> we were previously receiving about 100 to 120 calls per day. and last week every single day we got over 200 calls per day. >> we know it's important to yes, take care of ourselves so we are able to get through this. but that includes our minds, making sure we are able to cope. >> some people are coping quite well. others are struggling. >> i have struggled with anxiety, depression and eating disorders. so for me, this is really important right now. >> i struggled with depression and anxiety since i was younger.

and i know that during times of isolation, it can get a little bit worse. >> these times in particular are both unprecedented and incredibly challenging. >> i want to let you know it is okay to not be okay. >> we all need to come together to cope with the stress and to prevent a second epidemic of what can happen if we don't address the stress and trauma. >> we can overcome it. we've got what it takes to get through this. >> clouds can't last forever. they can't and they won't. that's not how the atmosphere works and that's not how life works. >> abc7 presents your mental health. a bay area conversation. >> i'm so glad you made it to us today. this special edition of abc7 news. i'm reggie aqui along with kate larsen. instead of our regular 4:00 p.m. newscast, we're going spend an hour engaging experts and you in this abc7 listens vtu tn ha the issue, our mental health. and kate, we're asking today how you, because even if the answer

isn't great, that's what we're diving into. >> that's what we're here to talk about, reggie, absolutely. this is an important one-hour virtual town hall airing on tv on abc7news.com, youtube, and facebook. over the next hour, we're going have a frank conversation with an amazing panel of experts and questions hopefully from all of you watching us now. now all of the issues we talk about when it comes to the pandemic -- health, jobs and the economy, the workplace, education, racial inequities are all taking a toll on our individual and collective mental health. the change is creating uncertainty that's manifesting as stress, anxiety and depression. >> take a walk down any street and every person you see covered by a mask, distanced from their friends and family has a story about their struggle with a new mental work load. >> i'm just -- i'm tired of worrying. >> katie is concerned about her parents' health. >> they're in their 80s and they're stranded in florida right now. >> the shelter in place has left

ayana and rodney without work with three kids at home. >> stressed. >> just trying to keep my head up, really. >> people who still have jobs are worried about losing them. >> it does concern me if they're going to eventually permanntly lay us off. >> students are stressed about virtual learning and how long it will continue. >> you're alone. you don't have study groups. i'm a little stressed about the fall and not being able to go back. >> everyone has experienced extraordinary amount of stress at this time that's really unprecedented. >> dr. lisa fortuna is chief of psychiatry at zuckerberg san francisco general hospital. >> first the viral transmission surge and then the mental health surge. we are getting ready for that in psychiatry. >> she has been on the ground after disasters like hurricanes when there is an acute need for psychiatric help. but she says the pandemic is different. >> i think the thing that's made this so complicated is the social distancing. >> a big factor for health care work owners the front line as well as people isolated at home. >> some days i've had

loneliness. >> david lives in san lorenzo. >> i've had a few anxiety attacks. i've been struggling with it since the shelter in place, not able to see family and friends. >> brandon rice is an icu nurse in san francisco. how you doing as a nurse treating really critically ill patients. >> right now i'm doing okay. because of the things that i have engaged in such as therapy, speaking about my anxiety, being vulnerable. >> when family members can't see their loved one because of covid-19, how does it make you feel to have to communicate that type of live critical information to family members over the phone? >> anxiety and stress. >> and then there are people whose lives have been upended by the health crisis itself. >> we were having a normal life, and then all of the sudden my husband was in the hospital with a 10% chance of making the

night. >> her husband was intubated at san francisco general. his family could not visit. >> it was really sad because the nurses would just make facetime calls, but it's not really the same. he couldn't talk. he couldn't do anything. >> her husband does not have covid and is now at home with a feeding tube. but because he can't risk a viral infection, she can't work or get outside help. so she is isolating at home to take care of her three kids and husband. >> i've never in my life felt anxiety or panic attacks until now. it was hard. it's still hard. it is -- we're taking it day by day. >> and i do know alinka who you heard from personally. she is so strong, and i'm so impressed by her resilience and the resilience of so many people who i met and interviewed over the past few months. even though so many people are in really difficult positions right now, people are also motived to do what it takes to get better and to feel better

and reggie, i do know that our panel of experts have some great ideas about how we can all accomplish that. >> yeah, we're definitely going to get to some practical ways that we can all cope right now. let's introduce our panel. we've put together an impressive group zooming in today. dr. andrew huberman, stanford professor and neuroscientist. dr. christine garcia, a family psychiatrist with the edgwood center. dr. alok patel, our good friend, abc news special correspondent, and geriatric psychiatrist and open house executive director. thank you all for being here. i want to start by talking about defining the problem. kaiser family foundations did a survey. they found that just about half of americans report that coronavirus is harming our mental health. a study that was done by online therapy company talk space looked at its numbers. they saw 65% jump in clients needing them. 40% of people saying that their mental health has declined category sap, who interviewed a

bunch of people who are still working right now. i want to start with dr. christine garcia. you work especially with families and children, and i want to know how you're finding the problem right now. >> well, at edgwood, we're really defining the problem as quite broadly and as an oncoming tsunami, actually. you know, in the past few months, we've seen a lot of phone calls and a lot of people calling our crisis stabilization unit. this is a unit that's essentially like a psychiatric emergency room but for children and families. and trauma informed. and we really do try to provide a very healing environment for people coming in with all sorts of crises. and we define crises very broadly, meaning that anyone can come in who is experiencing a child in their family that's really not at their best. and we've experienced a lot of calls and contacts about what to do for kids who are struggling

under the social distancing that we've had the do with school shutdown and with family members getting sick this includes frontline medical workers who are out there and also getting sick and suffering the psychological impact of treating so many people. so we're really seeing an oncoming onslaught of more kids, families really impacted by covid because of how great the spread is of the virus and then what that does to people including their losing jobs, losing homes, schools being shut down and teachers not being able to really provide structure for kids that they really rely on. and kids just being home with families all day, all night.

i think we're all struggling on some level with that. >> sometimes in very small space, depending where you live. >> that's right. >> dr. patel, you're the first person i had a conversation with coronavirus with in the studio back when this parallel pandemic we're talking about, the mental health pandemic wasn't even on our radar. that was part of the problem. we weren't necessarily preparing for this. >> we weren't. and when we were in the studio together, that feels like a generation ago, and it wasn't that long ago. i think this all caught us off guard, but it makes so much sense. we were so focused on the virus itself, the data of epidemiology. and this has almost turned into the hidden pandemic within the other pandemic that i think everyone else on the panel can agree with that statement. one thing we're really seeing right now is while coronavirus itself doesn't discriminate based on socio-economic group or backgrounds, your religion, your culture, anything. it will infect anyone. so will the mental illnesses

associated with it as well. you know, we've already talked about the fact that children are isolated. parents are juggling multiple jobs. some parents are losing their jobs. people themselves are experiencing feelings of loneliness. there is a lot of fear and anxiety out there. if i can speak on behalf of my colleagues in hospitals and looking at previous reports from sars, ebola, other medical crises, medical personnel now are seeing this in a way that is unprecedented. there is a fear of getting sick. there is a fear of losing patients. they're experiencing patient loss at an unprecedented level. and there is almost a moral injury adding to the burnout that all the people on the front line are experiencing when they want to do the best they can for their patients, but because of the volumes they see and the lack of protective equipment, they sometimes can't. and we're seeing that take a huge toll. we already saw a couple of suicides. i'm hearing a lot more reports out there. not only in america, but all over the world of frontline providers experiencing a mental toll here. and it is something we need to

be proactive about so three months ago we're not talking about this and saying we missed anything. >> i know you talk about having compassion but in a very specific way. you talk about the emotional contagion that is happening in our homes right now tell me a little bit about what that means. >> so i'm not a clinician, i'm a laboratory scientist, and we study the stress response, but also how people can move through stress and actually suppress it when they need to suppress it, accept it when they need to accept it and leverage it when they need to be more functional. one thing we know based on science from many good laboratories is you need to think not just about the stress response of the individual, but how stress spreads between individuals. families and small groups and in large groups, and as a population at large. you know, we hear these phrases like, you know, calm is contagious. and indeed, it is. and stress is contagious, and

indeed it can be. but my perspective really in the scientific perspective is to say well, why is that so? how does that work? and what can we do to promote calm, because what we know for certain is that while stress is a healthy response that everyone is going to experience from time to time, that we always make the best decision, including decisions about mental health from a place of calm. and i think that right now there is this heightened sense of destabilization and stress and in addition to that fear, which comes with uncertainty. and we really immediate to think not just how we're behaving and acting, but how we're impacting others. sometimes that can compound the problem when we realize we're stressed and we're spreading stress that creates a heightened what i call meta stress. today i know we're looking forward as a group discussing some of the things we can do as individuals, what we can do in communication with our children, other loved ones and in general as a society right now because this is an extremely important

problem. >> right. and we will get to some of the specific ways that you hopefully will calm our nerves a little bit as we move through this conversation. i want to quickly before we go to break talk to the doctor. your organization works with the senior population. and we have been very concerned about the population we're facing. >> yeah. so open house is an organization that serves lgbtq seniors and they experience a lot of the same issues that other seniors experience, but often at a heightened level, particularly around the world "isolation." so this is something anyone in senior services is thinking about all the time because we have seniors experiencing isolation and feeling invisible from their community, even going into this crisis. so in some ways, this isn't new, but it's a new level and a new intensity to a problem that existed before. there is a lot of good research showing that loneliness is actually a stronger predictor of mortality than a lot of physical health conditions that we think

about. so lgbtq seniors are less likely to have biological children or a absolutely family, which means their support system is often made up of same-age peers. and that means everybody is a part of that vulnerable population right now who is most at risk to covid and being told to stay home. so we've got isolation upon isolation upon isolation risk factors kind of stacking up and people really struggling to feel connected to their community which is their family of choice and where they feel love. >> understood. okay. so we have all talked to you now about what the problem looks like as we head into this. we're going to seek some solutions in just a moment. we are going to take a short break. but our conversation with the panel will continue. and later, a frank discussion with "good morning america's" ginger zee and broadway star patpy mirren. >> thank you. we want you to please join the conversation with us. you're part of this abc listens town hall too. go to facebook or youtube to weigh in or interact with today's virtual town hall.

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y3w6ky y1s6y we also know that these symptoms persist for years to come, even once quarantine is lifted. the data tell us that when the lives of adult, children and families are drastically changed for extended lengths of time, for many, anxiety, depression and stress disorders will wl pe. >> and that was dr. ellie

mccance-katz, assistant secretary for mental health and substance abuse, speaking at the white house earlier this week. this is something interesting i just read from dr. huberman today. i saw this article you wrote, dr. huberman, a navy s.e.a.l. you were comparing the experience of all of us going through this covid-19 experience with being stuck in a very small submarine, and what navy s.e.a.l.s go through, the trauma they actually experience by being in that small sometimes seemingly hopeless experience. can you tell me about how those folks get over it? >> sure. so my co-author on that article was a gentleman by the name of pat dawson who spent nine years on the s.e.a.l. teams, a close friend and colleague of mine. i do some work with special operations community separate from the work with path, but nonetheless, those communities became of interest to me in my lab for the following reason. they deal with high stress, high

consequence, high risk situations with a high degree of uncertainty. and really, a distinguishing feature that people need to understand is there is no real clear boundary between anxiety, stress, fear and trauma. but what we know, as there is more uncertainty, anxiety and stress starts to transition into fear. and when we're uncertain about how often fears are going to surface in us, then it starts to transition into what we might call trauma or ptsd. in that article we highlighted three things that special operations folks do in order to move through environments of high stress, high consequence that are really life or death with a lot of uncertainty. the first one is what's called moving the horizon. it seems a little counterintuitive, but the ability to focus on a goal that is very close in and within reach. it could seem almost trivial, like making a cup of coffee or saying good morning to somebody that you work with or a spouse. setting a small goal that's actionable and that you can complete and really putting as

much of your focus and attention on that as possible we believe absorbs a certain amount of the brain's capacity for a need to focus and can relieve some of the anxiety simply by setting tangible actionable goals that move you through your day. this is critical, especially in this time of quarantines. and we don't know what's coming next, of course. so even as we move out of our homes a little more in the weeks to come, setting these horizon disease be very important. this isn't just something that special operations do. surgeons do this. lots of first responders do. this but we can all learn something from what these impressive communities do in terms of moving the horizon. we all have control over these things. the other one that we talked about was and that these communities do which is a little bit counterintuitive, when you're feeling stressed, to really focus on the needs of somebody else. we think we've got take care of ourselves first, put our oxygen mask on first, so to speak, and that is true. if you're in a heightened state of stress or panic, you need to deal with that first. oftentimes our anxiety comes

from the fact that the brain can focus internally. it can focus externally or both. sometimes focusing externally on the needs of others or even just doing things without being asked, there is the thing actually in the s.e.a.l. team community they say act, don't ask. they mean that in a positive way where you just do something for somebody in order to assist the group. and it's a risin risin risin rin all boats. and the last thing, this phenomenon of when there is uncertainty and you're setting these horizons and you don't know what is coming next, oftentimes it can be very useful to just reward those small steps internally. there is a whole reward system, chemical system in the brain like dopamine in reaching goals and how they go awry in addiction and things like that. but the dopamine is designed to keep us on path to goals as it is given to us when we achieve goals. so in this time what i can

reasonably say and i think my friends in the special operations community would agree set small tangible goals throughout your day. it doesn't matter how meaningless or small they seem. reward yourselves for those internally. tell yourselves you're doing a good job. this is not positive self-talk in the traditional sense because you're not linking it to some bigger aspiration. >> it's just for that moment. >> focus on being functional. >> yeah, i like that. and that reminds me i need to buy some gummy bears on the way home because that's the way i reward myself. what are you seeing online? what are people saying? >> we're getting a lot of great questions and thank you all so much for chiming in. one of the things i'm noticing a pattern about is people worried about other people's bad behavior. so i would like to direct this question to dr. skultety. a lot of this is coming from older people who are vulnerable. they're 70-plus. they go out request their mask. they social distance properly. this woman says she was outside, very high risk. baden counter, two teenagers intentionally brushed against me, laugh and took off.

i've now developed a little bit of agoraphobia. now i start to feel the same way when i step out the door. what can i do to get past it? i really need these walks for my mental health and physical therapy? >> yeah, it's been an interesting time because those of us in senior services and who work with older people are used to our cities and communities and countries sometimes not thinking about the needs of older adults and sort of of unfortunately putting them last on the list. and so there has been some inspiration from me in that we've had a lot more people reaching out, asking to volunteer for our organization, wanting to find a way to help, thinking about seniors in a way that they hadn't been in the beginning. so i've said to everyone there is no silver linings in pandemics. that's not how they work. but if that was something that could come out of where we started thinking about older people and people and vulnerable populations first and ourselves

second, some of the time that can be a really positive change. that said, i know that a lot of people aren't wearing masks and that people are going out and encountering anxiety based on the behavior that they're seeing of other people. so one of the things that i would say is just to think about what conditions are going to be the least stressful if you're already feeling worried about leaving your house. so what times of day are people less likely to be out so that you have some distance before you're encountering someone who is engaging in behavior that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable. i like many people am tired of zooms at 5:00, but i know if i go outside my house at 5:00 and try and take a walk with my kids, it's constant zigzagging and needing to move quickly. and that's not going to work for a lot of older people. so think about the middle of the day when less people are out. and think about just going a short distance at first, what are 20 feet outside of your house where you can go, feel

like you had a good experience, come back in so that you start to build some of that good feeling back. now the problem is you associated that walk with this really negative experience. and i get those kids, if i could for you. because what a terrible thing to have happen. but go out, have a positive experience, go 20 feet, the next time 40 feet. just so it will start to have that positive association again as you go out. but, again, i think if we can think about seniors and people in vulnerable populations as our first thought like overall as a society, that's going to be a really positive change for us long-term. >> all right, thank you so much, dr. skultety. very great advice. we're going to go to a quick break. remember, you are part of this conversation. i'm here monitoring all of your questions. so you can go to facebook or youtube to weigh in and interact with this virtual town hall that we're hosting right now with our partial of experts. and if you stick with us online, i'm going to ask the panelists a few more questions right now. >> if you or someone you love

needs help, please reach out. we have numbers for additional services strolling at the bottom of your screen.

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you're watching "your mental health: a bay area conversation."

>> you know, for the people who are struggling, make sure you're opening up and talking about it. you know, i think there was for a few weeks or that's a handful of week, i tried to fight it myself. and it got me to a pretty scary situation. you know, when we're opening up like this and showing our vulnerability -- i guess showing our vulnerability, you know, that's difficult. and that's one of the hardest things i've ever gone through. and i can't say it enough. there are probably thousands, millions of people that are experiencing the exact same thing that i'm going through. so i think they see people like myself and people like kevin love or people like bieber, all of these people have opened up and talked about struggles that they go through. >> and that is olympic gold medalist michael phelps being really honest about depression during quarantine and the bigger issue of mental health in sports. celebrities, they are just like us. seeing people like michael talk

about their struggles with mental health can go a long way in making it feel okay to notor gres of h profile peop whoe batha gue on meteorologist ginger zee on "good morning america" every day in front of millions of people. the same week she got that gig, she checked into a mental hospital because of her related life-long battle with depression. and then patty mirren, recent lianna in "frozen the musical." she said even disney princesses are terrified sometimes. both you have had covid-19 symptoms. both of you have had a history of depression symptoms as well. and on top of that, patty mirren is pregnant. patty, at some point you must have thought what else could happen to my body. >> it was honestly it was -- she's going to be a super hero

when she comes out. it was the ultimate test in the one day at a time, one body chill at a time. you just get through it. and looking back i'm like whew, that was a thing. >> and ginger, physically, obviously it was tough. i know that you've said you were grateful that you didn't have more lung issues for you and your kids and your husband. but mentally it also must have been a challenge. >> i think there was so much going on mentally. i wish i could tell you, patty, that the stress would have been different or less if you already had the little girl. but unfortunately, when you have the kids and the worry multiplies by a bazillion and anxiety, i'm not an anxious person. i'm depressive. that's what i've been for decades. but the world is anxious right now. and so when you pair the anxiety of uncertainty going forward with everything, with the uncertainty with the virus that nobody knows enough about, but you likely have, and your

children have, and you're watching it unfold in front of you, and nobody knows what's next, my palms are sweating thinking about how nervous i was. >> another thing you talk about is just by saying it, saying the feelings, saying i am depressed today or having a bad day, that is a healing point for you? >> the anxiety of all of us feeling trapped right now in uncertainty, even if we're in a safe space, you know, and this is where the different boats in the same storm thing comes along. i'm never going to say i'm having the exact same experience you are. what i do know what i've learned in the past, because i've been in some rocky boats and i've been in some really bad places mentally, that i can take those things and use them, the tools. and first, the most important tool is being honest. so i can't tell you in the last four weeks, five weeks how many times i've said to my husband kind of in jest, hey, who wants to have a bottle of wine and sit on the deck and do nothing for the rest of the day. and it's like 9:30 in the

morning. it's funny, but there is truth in my funny. i want to runaway. i need help. i can't do the rest of my day. i overstacked it, i overdid it, and it's all building up. the moment i say that i start talking about why am i saying that. that's one of the habitses that i used to do. if i were in my mid-20s, that's how i escaped. so what am i trying to escape? and once you have that conversation, you put it out there in the light. and for me, the depression and the darkness that some days i wake up with, especially lately starts to get dimmer or start to push it away. >> ginger wrote a book and really put it all out there. and patty wrote a tweet. and i'm saying that both of those things are so important. so patty, really, so many people saw your tweet when you were playing anna in "frozen." and one day you just said can't do it today. and here's why. and that made such a difference i think in so many people's lives. did you feel that? >> i did. i didn't expect it to -- it was

sort of like a post. i just -- because, you know, like as a performer, it's a really hard schedule and it was a hard show and it was lot of pressure. and you feel guilty calling out. you truly feel guilty calling out when you have to. but i cannot do this, and this is why. the response was really -- it was immediate and it was incredible. i got so many letters at the theater and stuff, and i saved them all. i put them in scrapbooks and binders so i could look and be i have so many allies out there. there are so many people that feel like me. it was just as important to get that response, wow, this is a community. but it's a club we never have to be a part of. that's what i call it. i remember turning to my husband collin and saying i think i found my platform. that's it. that's it. >> and both ladies say their husbands have been a huge source of support, and that is a primary way they are getting

through. this of course, kate, not everyone has a family to support them. and we are concerned about people who are alone right now. that's a real thing. >> and that's a lot of the questions that i'm getting. people who are isolated, they don't feel like they're having any contact from their friends or family. maybe they're not getting that phone call that they so need. so i'd love to ask our panel of experts what can people do if they aren't alone, if they aren't getting that outside stimulation and contact they need. how can they do something at home to be calm, to ease their anxiety and stress? dr. patel, maybe you can answer. >> i think you're tapping on one of the missing resources right now. when we talk about resource, we often talk about physical resources, seeing a specialist. but this is a social, personal resource. and i think it's a two-way street. so people at home who are lonely need to know that there is help available if they really are in trouble that. >> want to reach out to somebody. but also, it's up to other people as well to know that they

should be reaching out, even something as simple as a text message, a zoom call. just a simple check-in can go a long way. i've got to go back to the very beginning of the hour when reggie mentioned how you doing, and really make sure people ask that question. when you say something like how you doing, you might actually hear a response, i'm fine, or i'm good. but there is a new movement now to say how are you doing really, to make sure that people know you're in tune with how they're doing and we're checking in on each other. i don't think it's up to people individually just to be looking out for their own loneliness. sure, they need to know people care about them. but it's up to really everyone else to pay a keen eye to see if there is anyone they can reach out to. there are some organizations i've heard of trying to create these atmospheres for people who might be isolated to know that there is a place where you can contact an organization you might be able to get paired with somebody. and as always, zoom game nights are doing wonders for people right now. so continue those. >> i love that. i love the how you doing, really. i'm stealing that.

i'm using that in my daily life. >> make sure it's really italicized though. >> thank you. thank you. i will do that. >> i can add. >> yes, please, go ahead. >> i can add a little bit to that. i think that one of the things open house did as an organization was as soon as we went into shelter in place, we actually started proactively calling every lgbtq senior who had walked through our door, which is about 3500 people a year, because one of the things that i find true for me but is true for a lot of folks i know is we are terrible at asking for help and we wait until the moment of crisis when things have gotten really, really bad before we reach out. so we proactively started calling people to say i'm here. i'm connected to you. i'm going to keep checking in. and the first round of calls that first week of shelter in place, only about 20% of the people said definitely call me back the next week. a week later, the same calls go out. a week later, it was above 60% saying i definitely want you to call me back again.

so just to add to the point of it's not just on us to ask for help. it's about us as a community thinking about each other proactively reach out. and when the person says yeah, yeah, i'm fine, people are often talking about their basic needs, right? food is a huge issue for seniors. safety, you have got to go a little bit further to get people to talk about how they're doing underneath. but i think that pro activity is great. and we do for lgbtq seniors open houses set up where we can get you a volunteer calling every day or staff calling. and i know that the city's volunteer matching system is also doing a lot where that's a really great volunteer opportunity what we're doing calls out to each other to connect. authentic connection. >> because we have longer -- we have longer to talk to people. so we should use that time. dr. garcia. >> absolutely. >> i want to talk to you about parents right now. i was just talking to a mom that i know in the east bay, and she

is worried about summer, because right now her high school-aged kids are busyish with school, zoom school. but that's going to disappear real soon. and then she doesn't know what happens. >> that's right. that's right. i think everyone who is a parent is terrified a little bit of what they're going to do once both shelter in place gets lifted a little bit and so it's great because people can go back to their jobs. but then what do you do? because kids are not going to have their regular camp. there are going to be other camps that are opening up virtually, and there is lots of free courses and things like that that going to be opened up for children that i'm seeing out there. another thing to think about is to -- i know that it's not great for parents to encourage screentime. however, i think screentime

during shelter in place, during a time of social distancing if it's a good diet of screens, meaning something that engages kids with other kids, connects them with others, whether it's a class, a group chat, games, they need that connection. and if this is the way they can do it, i would say encourage it. so definitely monitor your kid's screen time, but sit with them. connect with them about what they're doing, and what screens, what apps they're looking at, what video games they're doing. you may not be interested in it, but you should know about it. and see what you can do toe encourage the ones that are positive and encouraging resiliency. because that's something we really need to focus on with our community during this time. >> look, dr. garcia, i am not being facetious when i say this. i think that animal crossing is saving lives. i really do. it's a simple, gentle game, and the consequences are so low.

>> yeah, yeah. simple things, changing the horizon. just like dr. huberman said. >> yes, absolutely. >> you can make friends on animal crossing. you can make friends in that game. >> you really can. >> there are positive games out there, truly. and i encourage people to look at them. and there are even ones that are therapy-focused and focused on positive behaviors. so they're out there. and they exist. so summer is going to be different. it's going to be not the camps that we're used to, but there are things out there. for sure. >> okay. our conversation continues. don't forget we do have a list of resources at the bottom of your screen if you do need help right now. and we'll have more with our wonderful panel in just a couple of minutes. >> and don't forget, we want you to be a part of this conversation. you can go to facebook or youtube to weigh in and interact with today's virtual town hall. and we're going to continue this

conversation online right now. >> being somebody who's dealt with my share of mental health struggles, specifically anxiety and depression, i know this can be an extremely tough time to navigate. >> and we want to make sure that we're keeping our mental health our absolute top priorities. >> i think it's really important to try and keep yourselves surrounded by people who mean something to you. >> if you're a parent or a teen who we're herewow. you and we're open. i'm an original. one of a kind. you feel me? love ya'. than you? pop my 100% all-white-meat classic or spicy popcorn chicken combo for just $5.99.

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there. we're going to go to tv. becoming a mental health advocate stems from the trauma and loss i experienced after my dad died by suicide. there is certainly a collective trauma that stems from everything that's going on, and i -- i would like to think that maybe for some we can find opportunities for post traumatic growth. >> that was zak williams, son of the late robin williams. i had a great conversation with him this week about what he calls parallel pandemics, the viral one and of course the mental health surge that we've been talking about today. you can see our full story on our website, abc7news.com. and the mental health surge is certainly showing. there has been a huge increase in calls to mental health hotlines and requests for counsel ling service since the pandemic began. ucsf's langley porter psychiatric hospital reports

that compared to last year this march and april, adult visits are up 11% and child and merious if you'reeg the 42%.dr practices? and also, how telehealth has change how'd you treat patients. i've even heard from some doctors that it's helping more people get services because it's easy to pick up a phone. >> that's right. i think it depends who you're talking about and there certainly is a digital divide. so edgwood center serves a large population of san francisco and san mateo counties. and depending on whether there is access to digital, it definitely has been useful for a lot of families who are hesitant to come in. it decreases some stigma. some teens really like it because it's on a device. and we've been able to shift our

services over to telehealth in some ways quite successfully. but in others, it's been a acss in tms of what wreseeing, we're seeing a lot more serious cases. certainly we have residential facilities and we have our crisis stabilization unit. and in those areas, the kids that we see coming in have a lot more serious problems with suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, cutting, running away, on top of multiple traumas that they've experienced. and this will include homelessness due to a job loss, due to covid, and also family experiencing domestic violence, which has increased because of the shelter in place. and we imagine we're going to see even more as t continues and the social distancing persists, even if shelter in place is lifted.

because a lot of the usual places where kids typically are seeing as needing services like schools where teachers notice certain things and they have sports, those have been taken away. they're just home. and so they're not able to reach out as much. so we're going to see i think a lot more serious case, a lot more serious numbers of people needing help, including families. >> well, and dr. skultety, that we can talk about seniors in that same respect. is there a digital divide if these folks need to get on zoom or whatever telehealth videoconference whether it's their mental health care provider or a primary care provider about a regular illness they're dealing with. >> yes, absolutely. there are three things that lead to the digital divide. one is you may not have equipment that lets you do fun things like abc zoom that we're doing right now. it's great that you're showing

on tv as well. sec, if you have a device, you may not have regular or great wifi. and the third is even if you've got both of those things, your skills to be able to connect to whatever platform we're asking you to access care or to access entertainment, or to access connection with other people may not be there. so we have people in the very beginning who didn't have phones who were just going from senior center, senior center to be fed. and we couldn't even call them to get connected. the digital divide is so real for seniors. i really encouraging for us to think about getting wifi on affordable senior housing buildings because seniors are going to stay in place a lot longer than other folks, and we need to really step up and help with the technology. that's another great volunteer thing you can do if you're younger is talk to a senior and help them figure out zoom or one of these platforms. but it's a huge challenge. it's part of the reason we're actually doing a live drag show in the courtyard of our lgbtq

affordable housing buildings tomorrow because we know that there are people up there who have had zero contact, don't have technology, and they're going to look out those windows and see drag queens in the courtyard safely done, socially distanced, masked appropriate. we cannot let technology stop -- we cannot let lack of technology stop us from connecting. >> i want feather boas and clack fans out. i look forward to seeing that. >> you can come. come on over. >> i just may. dr. huberman, if you had a message for people at home right now who are experiencing things they've never felt in their life, they've never been diagnosed. they've never been to a therapist, but they want a couple of things to practice now because they're feeling overwhelmed or they're feeling depressed, what is the message you send to them via your research? >> so there are several what i would call foundational practices that we should all be doing. inside or outside of this current covid-19 situation on a

daily basis. fortunately, they're cost-free and they are powerful in that having outsized positive effects given how little time they take. the first one that's absolutely crucial is to get some light, ideally sunlight in your eyes in the early part of the day. you don't want to stare directly at the sun. if it's ever painful and you have to blink, it's too bright. getting light in your eyes early in the day sets in motion a hole set of things in the brain and nervous system. it times the release of hormones at their appropriate times of day and night. it sets a timer on when you're going feel sleepy and sleep that night. it improves the quality and depth of sleep that night. you can do it through a window, take off your sunglasses. ideally you can step outside, provide you'd can do that with safe social distancing in place. that is number one. the second one is the inverse of that. there is good data now out of

the national institutes of mental health that show that bright light exposure, not just blue light and screens, although blue light and screens are included but bright light between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. on your local schedule, when you're looking at that consistently, or seeing that consistently, netflix in the middle of the night, looking at the news in the middle of night. >> that's bad? >> that's bad. in fact, it sets in motion a circuit in the brain that suppresses the release of dopamine. >> okay. just to wrap real quick, we'll get back to in this a second. but those are really good tips. take action. log on the our website, abc7news.com/takeaction. we have links to resources on mental health, coronavirus, and other issues you may be dealing with. and we will be back. hi, i'm sarah michelle geller, and i'm partnering with child mind institute to talk about my mental health during this challenging time. this is definitely the most anxiety and uncertainty that i've ever experienced. >> i'm reaching out the family

and friends to stay socially connecte w we ar haimik i take lots of walks. >> something i really like to do when i'm struggling with anxiety is a brain dump. what i do is i just write down anything that i'm worried about. i write and write and write. >> just do whatever you need to do to stayafe a

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>> this went too fast. we want to thank our panel of experts or the taking time out to talk with us and with you about mental health. this is only the beginning of an important conversation, but one we think is worth having. kate? >> and reggie, final thoughts in the spirit of being vulnerable and trying to shake off stigma. i've struggled with depression in the past and even anxiety more recently over a situation is that wasompletely out of my i did seek out counsel ling and am still working through some lingering stress. i find that focusing on the day ahead and what needs to get done in that moment, maybe it's putting together a great story for the news or a fun activity with my daughter is a productive way to at least focus my anxious energy. elizabeth wurtzel wrote in pro dak nation that is all i want in life is for this pain to see purposeful. i know a lot of people are working listening to this panel reasoned are hopeful we can move forward in a productive way. >> thank you for sharing that kate.

a few days ago my new doctor at the time asked me a series of questions, how often did i feel stress? how often did i feel lack of snope new patient regnal aqui needs help. i put it off. unaddressed issues went from bubbling up to exploding. the help that i was once hearing was a recommendation was now actually an emergency. i'm telling you this because if you're feeling that bubbling up of emotions right now, please tell someone. maybe it's a friend or maybe it's a doctor, or maybe it's both. you deserve, we deserve to be mentally healthy. i want to thank you (music) ♪

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or closing your shades during the day. stay well and keep it golden. county hardest hit by the kz kz ta coronavirus taking steps toward re-opening. why face coverings are taking center stage. hybrid learning will likely be the future for california's 6 million students. the state's chief reached tout schools today about their future. united airlines bringing out the big guns in hopes of bringing back some nervous passeng passengers. changing look of flying and the effort to restore confidence during a pandemic. cash creek hopes it has a jackpot on its hands. we get an inside look at how different the casino will be when it re-opens. and new numbers on the coronavirus and african-americans. the push now for more outreach. >> building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc 7