Love in the Time of Covid
Covid-19 has made life complicated for everyone, especially since the best prevention measures involve self-imposed isolation and avoiding friends and family. We are missing out on all the fun activities that we took for granted. I don’t know how life is going for you, but I have learned that loneliness is physically, mentally, and spiritually damaging. According to Psychologist John Cacioppo of the University of Chicago, living alone increases the risk of suicide for young and old alike, raises levels of circulating stress hormones and levels of blood pressure and destroys the quality and efficiency of sleep (Psychology Today).
At the beginning of the pandemic, I had more of a hard time because my calendar was empty. That gave me little to do, so I didn’t have anything really to work on with my friends and colleagues. More recently, my work has started to adjust. Nowadays, I volunteer and participate in various board meetings using programs like Zoom, Webex, Facebook Messenger, and Microsoft Team to conduct my advocacy. Although it’s still not the same as an in-person interaction, at least it’s something. We’re still getting work done, and we can see each other in some way. Even for introverts like me, we can’t get through a crisis like this completely alone.
This crisis might yet be another time when people with disabilities teach the rest of the world a lesson. People with disabilities have been informally supporting their friends and colleagues for a long time. It’s a concept called Peer Support. Even presidents have benefited from the assistance and reciprocation of their peers. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gained from his connections to people with polio and bought a farm in Warm Springs, GA, which included a permanent 88-degree warm spring. He heard about the effects of hydrotherapy after hearing about a boy who regained his walking mobility after experiencing the treatment. Warm Springs was the only place that FDR allowed himself to show his disability. Everywhere else he went, there always an attempt to hide the extent of his polio. He eventually recruited guests and felt comfortable to spend time there with them.
Later on, Peer Support played a significant role in the success of the disability rights movement. As talked about in the Netflix documentary, Crip Camp, many of the leaders of the early disability rights movement all had a connection to a camp in upstate New York named Camp Jened. While there, they were able to build relationships in which they were able to bring them together to form the most prolonged and most peaceful sit-in US History in San Francisco. From what I saw in the movie, and due to its opening in 1971, I would describe it a little like a Woodstock for people disabilities. I would be willing to bet that the San Francisco sit-in wouldn’t have happened without the strong relationships that were formed, and we might not even have disability rights today.
We know that Peer Support works for several different communities, and it’s a recognized treatment for people with mental health and substance abuse disabilities. Alcoholics Anonymous would be considered a type of Peer Support. Peer Support is not acknowledged as a therapy for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD). The Centers for Independent Living are one of the only exceptions. Even though many of us have benefited from relationships with other people with disabilities for years, it would be helpful for Peer Support to be accepted as an essential part of our lives eventually. To accomplish this, we need people who are highly trained, and we need a high-quality curriculum. That way we can train even more people.
I have been talking to a friend with disabilities almost every night during the pandemic. Sometimes for three hours. I know that friendship is a significant factor in why I’m doing so well so far. It’s good to have someone to talk to that are going through similar challenges. It would be nice if our expertise were rewarded in the same way as everyone else’s was, which are many. As people with disabilities have been saying for a long time, we are the best expert on how to live our lives.
That’s how I roll…