How is COVID-19 affecting mental health?
COVID-19 has made us more stressed, anxious, uncertain, and lonely than ever. Here are some practical ways to deal with the physiological stress reaction while in quarantine, or really, anytime.
What can I do to combat stress?
1. Breathe in for 5, out for 5. Our average breathing pace is 12-16 breaths per minute, or ~4 seconds each. That’s only 2 seconds in, 2 seconds out. When you’re stressed, you may notice it speeding up even more. Slow it down and try to do it from your belly (technically, your diaphragm), not your chest.
Deep, abdominal breathing activates neurons that detect blood pressure. These neurons signal to the vagus nerve, the “brakes” on the stress car, that blood pressure is becoming too high, and the vagus nerve, in turn, responds by lowering your heart rate and blood pressure.
2. Do some push-ups, sit-ups, or pop in a YouTube workout video. Put that excess adrenaline to good use! Think of it as “running” from your perceived danger.
3. Laugh. Studies show that laughter reduces stress and increases immune function. Instead of scrolling through feeds on Covid-19, watch standup comedy. In a study of cancer patients, the improvement from humor was even more pronounced than from other coping mechanisms such as distraction.
4. Affirm your values. Studies have shown that those who reflect on their values experience less stress and show a substantial decrease in cortisol compared to control groups. Do you know your top values? We cover this in the LIFE app under Mission 3, so I won’t go into it in detail here, but highly recommend. Understanding your values is crucial not just for stress management but also for motivation, goal-setting, and decision-making. So, get grounded and more productive while in quarantine by thinking about yours.
5. Write three things you’re grateful for. While it sounds cheesy, clinical trials have shown that gratitude can have dramatic and lasting positive effects, from lower blood pressure to improved immune function, to more acts of helpfulness and generosity. People who experience gratitude can cope more effectively with everyday stress, show increased resilience in the face of trauma, recover more quickly from illness, and enjoy more robust physical health. This scientific intervention is as simple as keeping a gratitude journal.
6. Practice progressive muscle relaxation, an exercise that involves clenching certain muscle groups one at a time and then slowly releasing them. People with insomnia often find this is helpful for falling asleep. Here’s a full article on how to practice this and which muscle groups to clench.
What can I do to combat anxiety?
Anxiety provokes a much greater cardiovascular response than the slightly milder worry. Worry can trigger solutions and strategies, while often, anxiety borders on uncontrollable.
Anxious thoughts in your head are hard to calm. Distracting only helps for so long; pesky thoughts sneak in any chance they can get. That’s why, instead of dismissing or avoiding anxious thoughts, do something even tougher: train them.
1. Practice Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Pioneered in the 1960s, CBT has become the most widely researched form of therapy. The best part is, it's so easy you can do it yourself in five minutes. The cognitive model says that the "reality" we experience is just our interpretation of events, or our immediate thoughts about them. Change your thoughts, change your feelings, and change your behavior. For example, thinking “I can’t do anything right” might create a feeling of hopelessness that leads to behaviors like giving up. On the other hand, thoughts like “I could have done some things differently” might create interest which encourages reflection and growth.
2. Do structured problem-solving. Breaking down a problem and deciding on a course of action can help you break free from useless rumination. Here’s how:
Define the problem. What is it you’re really anxious about? Who is involved? List possible solutions. Think of this as one big brainstorm.Choose the idea you think is best and evaluate it. How much time and effort will it require?Write a solution statement.Then, to avoid overwhelm, break that solution statement into much smaller steps. What’s one thing you can do this month? This week? Today? Right now?
3. Grounding exercise. Sometimes, we’re so anxious that we can’t even think through the above. If you are at the point of panic, follow the below exercise.
Look around you and find:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can touch
- 3 things you can hear
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste
Longer-term, here are things you can do daily to ward against anxiety.
4. Buy probiotics and stay hydrated. Serotonin is a chemical that transmits messages between nerve cells. It affects so many aspects of our well-being that it’s commonly called the “happy chemical,” impacting our mood, appetite, and cognitive functioning. It is estimated that 90% of the body's serotonin is made in the digestive tract. From bowel movements to eating, your gut is like a second brain. Take care of it with probiotics and water.
5. Keep your sleep schedule. In quarantine, our schedules may be thrown out of whack. Without our regular morning commutes, we may sleep in, and perhaps stay up later as well.
Like stress, sleep disruption has been linked to multitude of short- and long-term health consequences. Short-term, it makes us more susceptible to stress, depression, and anxiety; it impairs cognitive performance and increases risky behaviors. Long-term, sle
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