Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced free virtual support groups for those who have recovered from coronavirus but are struggling emotionally or have lingering health effects.

"Remember, many people who survived COVID-19 were not just a little bit sick. There were thousands of residents who were hospitalized. Some of which were on ventilators and all dealing with the stress of not knowing if they will survive this illness," says Curran.

The county executive says many people are dealing with anxiety, panic attacks, survivors' guilt, and post-traumatic stress following their battle.

The groups are held via Zoom, and they are available to anyone through Emerge Nursing and Rehabilitation in Glen Cove. The calls are kept to roughly 10 people and are led by trained professionals.

Registered nurse Lisa Penziner, is a support group founder. Penziner says it's important for survivors to talk about lingering health effects and mental health issues.

"Somebody will say, 'Oh, I'm having hair loss,' and somebody will say, 'Oh, I'm having that, too,'" says Penziner. "So, they're finding commonality among each other, they're finding community among each other, and they're finding solutions among each other."

There are roughly 50,000 known COVID-19 survivors in Nassau County.

Aida Vazquez is one of those survivors. Vazquez says she battles anxiety every day since having the virus. Vazquez says the virtual support group has made a difference.

"By the encouragement of the support group itself, I was able to go out," says Vazquez. "I'm able to cope with it better now. I'm in a better place."

The next Post COVID-19 Support Groups will take place Wednesday, Nov. 18, Dec. 2, Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 . All meetings are at 6 p.m. To receive the Zoom invite information to participate, please email lisa.penziner@paragonmanagementsnf.com or call 516-457-5585.