Lyra Lends a Hand to Infirmary Coworker

Veronica Patterson didn’t realize there was a problem, she just knew she didn’t feel like herself anymore.

“I was getting angry and irritated,” she recalls. “I wasn’t interacting on my job or with my family. I didn’t understand what was going on with me.”

Veronica, a cardiac monitor tech lead, has worked at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary (Little Rock, Arkansas) for 26 years. One of eight children, she has always enjoyed spending time with her friends and family and is a dedicated bowler and a lover of books and movies.

But in 2020, her father passed away. Eight months later, her mother was gone too.

When Veronica began feeling withdrawn from the people and activities she once enjoyed, she wrote off her feelings as a side effect of menopause. But deep down, she had incredible grief and sadness that she had not yet faced.

A friend of Veronica’s recognized the signs of depression and spoke up.

“He could see I needed help,” she recalls. “He recommended I talk to someone.”

He told her about Lyra, the mental health support resource available to all CommonSpirit Health employees.

Veronica looked into it and within just one day, she was connected to a therapist in her area.

“Using the Lyra site was so easy,” she says. “I answered a few questions. I chose between online or in-person appointments and then I was able to look at the list of available therapists and choose the one I wanted to meet with.”

Like all employees, Veronica has access to ten therapy sessions every year at no charge. Veronica’s sessions are ongoing, and she says she can already feel a difference.

“She was able to help me see that I needed to slow down, process my feelings and really grieve for my parents,” Veronica says.

One of the coping tools that her new therapist has shared with her is journaling, which is helping Veronica do the work needed to process her grief.

“I write down what I’m feeling in the moment, and then I go back and look at it later and really break it down with my therapist,” she says.

Moving forward, one area of concern for Veronica is the holidays. Her mother’s birthday is Nov. 17 and Thanksgiving was always her favorite holiday. Celebrating without her parents is hard, but Veronica is hopeful that it will be easier this year thanks to the work she has done in therapy.

“I can tell that this holiday season won’t be as overwhelming as it was the last couple years,” Veronica says. “I’ll still miss my mom and dad but I’m going to focus on spending time with my friends and family.”

Veronica is glad she sought out support and looks forward to engaging with her coworkers and friends once again. She encourages any CommonSpirit colleagues who may be struggling to seek help.

“Using Lyra is so easy and it’s free,” she says. “I really appreciate CommonSpirit taking employees’ mental health so seriously. I hope anyone who needs help, will ask for it.”

Lyra: Emotional and Mental Health Support When You Need It Whether you’re experiencing a life change, or feeling stressed, anxious or depressed, Lyra is available to help. You and your eligible dependents and household members can access ten coaching or therapy sessions per person, per year, at no cost to you. Lyra offers one-on-one sessions with a provider, but Lyra’s services go beyond that, too. Once you sign in, you’ll have access to a variety of mental wellness resources, exercises to shape and practice resiliency, and consultations on work-life topics such as legal needs, identity theft, finances and dependent care. Visit commonspirit.lyrahealth.com for information about benefits and eligibility.