Rep. Tim Burchett set up a phone line for those 'feeling overwhelmed'

Rep. Burchett set up a line for those 'feeling overwhelmed.' So far, he's gotten 1,000 calls.

A few days ago, Rep. Tim Burchett received a call from a woman in her 30s from Illinois. She told him news about the coronavirus pandemic was starting to overwhelm her.

Congressmen are used to hearing from constituents. It's part of the job.

But the woman got in touch directly with Burchett via a cellphone number he shared on Twitter. Burchett recommended she go for a walk outside, while also maintaining social distancing guidelines. She did.

Hers was just one among the 1,000 phone calls and 2,000 text messages to the phone since Monday.

Burchett, who has had friends who have died by suicide, decided he wanted to do something to help people directly. He asked for people who are "feeling overwhelmed or scared and just want to talk to somebody" to call him.

Some calls came as late as 1 a.m. Several calls came from other states, even as far out as California and Alaska. Some want to ask him if it's really Burchett himself, but when they hear him answer in his East Tennessee accent, they know.

The last few days, he's received hundreds of calls from the seven counties in his district. The social media-savvy freshman GOP congressman has developed quite a following.

"I've had people call me that are on the edge, and just want to talk, and yeah, some of them don't live in my district, but I don't give a rip," Burchett said in a phone interview. "People are hurting, and they just need somebody to talk to."

On Thursday, Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order, mandating Tennesseans stay at home, as the number of coronavirus cases in Tennessee continues to rise.

The effects of some of the distancing measures are alarming to mental health professionals.

"In social work, we've been very concerned," said Phyllis Thompson, a clinical associate professor and chair of the trauma treatment certificate program at University of Tennessee. "The biggest concern is changes to behaviors, mental health and, ultimately, suicide."

The term "social distancing" is used to describe the measures being taken to increase the physical space between people. But Laurie Novak, an assistant professor of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said the term "physical distancing" is more accurate.

"We're not asking people to be less social, we're asking people to be 6 feet apart," said Novak, who served as one of 15 members of the National Academy of Medicine's Committee on Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults.

The committee recently released a report titled "Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System." It looked at the health impact of social isolation and loneliness in adults over 50, and made recommendations for health care organizations.

And in a press briefing March 20, WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said that physical distance “doesn’t mean that socially we have to disconnect from our loved ones, from our family.”

Social connections between humans are important, Thompson said.

"The thing about the connection, they help us feel valued," she said. "And it adds meaning to our lives."

Katie Dorough Veit, a professor at UT's College of Social Work and a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in anxiety, depression and grief, explained: "When we see someone, it provides a sense of hope and safety because it lets us know we can be connected with others."

But access to in-person contact has been limited. The CDC has advised against gatherings of more than 10 people. Bars, restaurants, gyms churches and other staples where people interact socially are closed. This can lead to a feeling of loneliness.

"There is a correlation between feeling lonely and depression and anxiety," Dorough Veit said. She added loneliness can add to, "increased feelings of depressive symptoms, a feeling of hopelessness."

There is a difference between social isolation and the feeling of loneliness.

"Loneliness is the perception of social isolation, or the subjective feeling of being lonely," Novak wrote in an email. "Social isolation, on the other hand, is the objective lack of (or limited) social contact with others.

"Not all people who feel lonely are socially isolated, and not all people who are isolated feel lonely."

There can be someone, for example, living with friends or family, but still feeling alone. And there can be another person who is living alone, but doesn’t feel lonely.

Loneliness can also have negative physical effects on people, particularly older adults.

"There is strong evidence that in adults, poor social relationships have been shown to increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke, and also to an increased risk of dementia," Novak wrote.

And as people start feeling lonely, it can lead to changes in behavior because some may turn to negative coping strategies to combat the feeling, Thompson said. The changes can range from how many cigarettes one smokes in a day to how much alcohol one consumes to how one responds to stress — and stressors.

And one stressor is the impact the pandemic is having on the jobs market. The number of unemployment claims has surged for two weeks across the state.

Losing a job already adds stress as people start to worry how to pay their bills and buy supplies. But for many people, "their professions are wrapped into their identity," Thompson said.

What to do if feeling lonely

Here are some things Novak, Thompson and Dorough Veit recommendation for people who feel lonely.