Mental Health Month begins on Friday, May 1. Look for additional information throughout May about the benefits and resources we offer to support King County employees’ mental health and well-being.
Many people feel stretched by the pace of work, family responsibilities, and the uncertainty happening in the world right now. According to King County Employee Assistance Program Manager and counselor Miguel Messina, it makes sense that current stressors feel heavy on their own. For some people, those stressors can also stir up older experiences that were never fully resolved.
“If you’re feeling stressed out, snappy toward people, or like your emotions are harder to control, that may be connected to the accumulation of trauma from your past being activated by what’s happening now,” Miguel explains.
He notes that past experiences where we felt unsafe or lacked agency can shape how our nervous system responds later in life. “When pressure builds in the present, those earlier experiences can resurface, signaling to the mind and body that it needs to shift into a fight‑or‑flight response”, says Miguel. “This doesn’t mean the current situation isn’t stressful. It means your body may be responding to both what is happening now and what it has carried for a long time.”
How this can show up
People may notice:
- Feeling on edge or unusually reactive
- Trouble concentrating
- Emotional fatigue
- Feeling overwhelmed more quickly than usual
These are common human responses, not personal failures.
Where to start
You do not need to know whether trauma is involved before reaching out. As Miguel puts it, “If you’re feeling these signs and symptoms, it may be worth meeting with a counselor to explore what’s underneath and what healing might look like.”
King County’s counseling resources can help you sort through what you’re experiencing and identify what kind of support might be most helpful.
- Making Life Easier (MLE) offers up to 8 counseling sessions per issue, which can be enough to help identify symptoms and learn strategies to manage them.
- Insurance‑based therapy can provide longer‑term space to explore trauma and healing more deeply if needed.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counseling is confidential and can help you explore whether past experiences are affecting your day‑to‑day reactions.
You’re not alone
Periods of stress, ambiguity, and uncertainty can make old emotional patterns feel closer to the surface. Reaching out for support is a strong and healthy step. Mental health professionals are here to help you understand what you’re feeling and explore what might help you move forward.
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