Active and compassionate listening are not just skills we teach Volunteer Family Guides, but we also aim to use these skills in all areas of our lives, including our jobs. Given that Threads of Life is a safety-minded organization focused on peer and family support, mental health has always been a priority for our staff.

For many, this was a sudden shift to working at home - for others, it was navigating the ever-changing world of restrictions around how to work safely as the science, policy, and safety communities struggled to keep up with the latest information and knowledge. Colleagues noticed and did what they could to support each other, even as virtually everyone had to adopt a new way of working. Anxiety, isolation, pandemic fatigue, grief, insomnia, disconnection, Zoom fatigue, depression, trauma, and substance abuse are all experiences that have been widely shared and discussed - as it seemed everyone was struggling with some aspect of their mental health. Mental health has never had more attention than in the years since the first wave of lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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