Texas is now fully open for business again and with it may come new worries about what life will look like.
In particular, 60% of parents with kids at home for remote learning reported their stress has increased.
Three quarters said they craved more emotional support.
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Rosa Vargas, a 58-year-old grandmother, can empathize.
She lives in the same Oak Cliff apartment with her son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.
She had to take on responsibility for virtual schooling for all three children plus most of the household responsibilities due to COVID-19 and changes in her daughter-in-law’s work schedule.
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She said she became more isolated, stressed and sad, missed her church and her friends, reverted to overeating, stopped exercising, gained weight, and became depressed.
She didn’t adapt well mentally to the pressures and isolation brought on by COVID-19 and sought help.
"Even just talking to someone about it can really really help," said Parkland Hospital's lead mental health counselor Jeanette Dominguez, LPC, who added that the need for help will continue as people transition into a new normal.
"A lot of them are coming in worried that they will not get back to the norm they had once before COVID-19 hit. That norm may look like a full-time job, having childcare, having their kids in school full-time and being able to pay their bills."
She says signs to look for are significant increases in irritability or low motivation or change in regular sleeping and eating habits.
People can call the statewide COVID-19 mental health support line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 833-986-1919
Vargas used counseling and medication to feel better, she said.
She even got a new dog, gets up early every morning to walk for one hour with her dog before starting school day with the kids.
She is scheduled to get her second COVID-19 vaccine soon.
