COVID-19
&
Your Mental Health
By: John King
You would have to have been living on a remote island or under a rock for the past six weeks not to have heard of COVID-19 – AKA: the Coronavirus. News about the virus is on TV 24/7, it’s all over Facebook and Twitter, on the radio and in newspapers. No matter where you go, there is is! While it is good to stay informed about what’s going on with the pandemic, how much information is too much information? Can we be too informed? For some, the answer is an overwhelming yes!
As we have seen in the past with wars and events like 9/11, information overload can be a real problem for some people, seriously affecting their mental health. When we are bombarded with terrible news about a tragedy or in this case a pandemic, we begin to feel anxious and panicked. With no end in sight, fear builds and feelings of anxiousness soon turn into feelings of depression and despair. These feelings can be quite profound and some people may begin to exhibit symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress and even develop full blown Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Although not perfect, we do know what steps we can take to help prevent exposing ourselves to the virus. But how do we protect our emotional health during such a trying time? Below, I have some steps you can take to help relieve some of the stress you may be feeling during this crisis. Keep in mind that children are especially vulnerable to information overload as they do not yet possess the reasoning skills or life experience required to sort through the huge amounts of complicated information they are being bombarded with. Everyone handles this sort of crisis differently. Be cognisant of other’s feelings. Just because you may not be feeling overwhelmed, your spouse, children and friends might be. Don’t be fooled, even though you may feel that you’re doing fine these feelings have a tendency to sneak up on you without warning. If you feel edgy, are short tempered with people, not enjoying things like you used to or find yourself constantly thinking about all that’s bad, you are being affected.
Taking steps steps to mitigate information overload will not only preserve your mental health but your physical health as well. The deleterious effects of stress on the immune system are well documented. Stress increases the levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Cortisol is the body’s “fight or flight” hormone and is secreted during times of acute stress. It’s purpose is to ready the body for battle by shifting energy away from the internal organs and immune system to the muscles getting us ready to fight or flee. When cortisol levels become chronically elevated due to the continuous stress of information overload, our immune response becomes suppressed. This leaves us vulnerable to infections such as COVID-19. If we end up contracting the virus our symptoms will be much worse and our recovery time significantly longer.
To relieve some of the stress burden you may be feeling, try implementing some of these measures.
● Limit news intake. Cut back on your news intake. Pick one reliable news source and watch or listen to it only once per day, limiting your consumption to less than one hour (even less if that’s too much). You won’t be any less informed and should there be an emergency the Emergency Broadcasting System would be activated to keep you up to date. There are also apps for your smartphone that will notify you of these alerts so it’s not necessary to leave the TV news on all the time.
● Limit Facebook. Facebook is great for connecting with friends and family but it is inundated with news about the Coronavirus. Cut back on the time you spend on social media. If you must use Facebook consider temporarily unsubscribing from news feeds and rely on your one hour of quality news per day.
● Refrain from reposting. Just because everyone is re-posting everything about COVID-19 doesn’t mean you have to follow their lead. I realize that people want to feel as though they are helping by disseminating information they receive but in reality it just feeds information overload. If you are going on social media to connect with friends and family you may not necessarily want to see every other post be about the pandemic. If your friends are constantly posting about the virus and you want to limit your news intake, it’s perfectly acceptable to “snooze” them for 30 days so you don’t see their posts. You can always check in on them by going directly to their profile. Be considerate of others’ emotional wellbeing and try not to feed the frenzy by over-posting about the pandemic.
● Social distancing not isolation. Social distancing does not mean complete social isolation. Technology has provided us with many ways we can stay connect “virtually”. Just about all smartphones have some type of video chat you can use to stay in contact with family and friends. Likewise, Facebook Messenger has a group video chat feature that you can use to have family meetings or hang out with friends.
● Take a walk. Take a 15 minute walk outside at least once per day. Being cooped up inside with the windows closed all day everyday is enough to make anyone feel depressed. Walking is an excellent stress reliever, helps to oxygenate the blood and is good for your immune system. If you can walk in nature all the better as nature walks can be quite soothing.
● Exercise. Keep up with your regular exercise routine. If you don’t have one, now is a good time to start since you’ll be having some extra time. If you’re just starting an exercise routine take small steps. Don’t overtrain as overtraining can suppress the immune response.
● Practice mindfulness. Start a mindfulness meditation practice. Meditation is an exceptional stress reliever as it focuses on breath control. By consciously controlling the rate and quality of our breath we can circumvent the body’s stress response and lead a calmer life. If you’re not sure of how to get started with a meditation practice
click here.
● Try Yoga, Tai-Chi or Qi Gong. Building on the principles of mindfulness Yoga, Tai-Chi and Qi Gong are “moving meditations”, perfect for those who don’t feel they can sit still long enough to meditate. If you are able to engage in these practices outside in the fresh air all the better!
● Read for fun. Now is the time to get to that fantasy or mystery novel you always wanted to read. Reading something fun is a good stress reliever as it busies the mind and engages the imagination. Just don’t pick something like Outbreak or Contagion!
● Binge your favorite shows. Take advantage of the many streaming services (many are now free) to binge watch your favorite movies or TV shows. By streaming your entertainment you won’t be tempted to flip over to the news or have your news fast interrupted by repetitive updates.
● Learn something new. Try learning a new skill or language. There are many learning opportunities online that are free. YouTube is a great place to gain free knowledge. There are some streaming channels that are dedicated to learning such as The Great Courses. Maybe an immediate member of the family has a skill they could teach you? Learning is not only a great way to distract the mind to relieve stress but it makes us feel productive, which is a big problem when you’re stuck inside and feel like you can’t do anything. Productivity leads to increased feelings of wellbeing.
● Pursue a hobby. Now is the time for you to pursue that hobby you always wanted to do. Or maybe you can pick up where you left off on an old hobby? Hobbies fulfill all the requirements for dealing with stress; engaging the imagination, learning, productivity and accomplishment. Something like woodworking is not only a hobby but may just yield a nice coffee table or bookstand. A few years back I was laid up due to an accident and took the opportunity to get my Ameteur Radio licence. Something that is helping me now to feel less isolated.
● Engage with pets. If you have pets spend more time with them. If you don’t have a pet consider adopting one. They will appreciate it and your life will be better for it. Pets can be a tremendous comfort during times of crisis. Also, with everyone confined and out sick the shelters will have no staff to take care of all the animals waiting for adoption. Adopting a pet will relieve some of their burden.
● Reconnect with friends. Why not use some of your spare time to look up that old buddy from High School or collage? The internet makes it pretty easy to find people these days so make use of it. Catch up and talk about the glory days. Just don’t talk about the current crisis unless you mutually agree.
● Check up on family, friends and the elderly. Everyone likes to feel like they are doing their part so while adhering to government guidelines for social distancing, check up your loved ones. Don’t forget about your elderly neighbors who may not have anyone to check in on them. Arrange to call them daily at a particular time to ensure their safety.
Even the toughest among us have limits. Whether you know it or not all of this information you are being bombarded with is having an effect on you. We do not have to stick our heads in the sand but we also don’t have to wallow in disturbing news. So before things reach critical mass start to incorporate some of the above steps into your life.
If you begin to feel that things are getting to be too much, seek professional help as soon as possible. You can also take advantage of the mental health resources I have listed on the Resources page of this site. During this time of restricted movement I am available for telephone consultation should you wish to explore nutraceutical intervention to manage your stress. You can contact me via the Contact form on this site, messaging me on Facebook or by telephone.
This crisis will pass, how well you get through it is up to you. Take steps for your physical as well as your emotional wellbeing. Just remember to slow down and BREATHE!
Best in Health,
John