I received this pithy text on April 4, 2020 and I had no idea initially who it was from:

Good Lord! Who is this? Finally, a flashback. On January 12, 2020, I was standing in front of a bookstand in the park marveling at its painted turquoise exterior covered with green and blue buttons. That’s when Carol, an energetic 78-year-old woman came along carrying an armful of books and began to restack the stand. She was bubbly and vivacious. We spoke like we had known each other forever and exchanged telephone numbers at the end. When I called Carol later, we talked again…

Five days had gone by since I sent the first email to her. We had met in one of my classes during my training as an integrative health coach. I was worried about her, because she suddenly disappeared, just as class was coming to an end and humanity’s new threat was descending. Then finally I got a response from my 73-year-old friend. She told me she had been struggling with her mental health. I totally understood. Staying mentally fit during COVID-19 is as difficult as staying physically fit.

Mental fitness and physical fitness are symbiotic states: they support one an…