Coping with Stress and Anxiety During Coronavirus
Our current situation is something few of us ever imagined. There are so many things that are out of our control. Changes to our lives and routines are coming at such a quick pace that it can be hard to keep up. Everything we’re dealing with can lead to a lot of additional stress and anxiety that is overwhelming. Dealing with this stress in a healthy way is essential. The Center for Disease Control offers a few tips to deal with the stress.
Tips for Everyone
Remember that everyone reacts to stress differently. How we react to stress depends on our personal history, coping skills, and so much more. Some people may feel more stress from the pandemic than others, like seniors, people with chronic health conditions, children and teens, first responders, essential workers, caregivers, and people with mental illnesses.
Stress manifests in many ways. Stress affects us in many ways, here are some common ways it can show up:
Worrying about your health and the health of your loved ones
Changes in sleep and eating patterns
Trouble sleeping or concentrating
Worsening of chronic health problems
Increased use of substances like alcohol, drugs, or tobacco
If you have a preexisting mental health condition it’s important that you continue with your treatment. Continuing your treatment doesn’t just mean taking your prescribed medication. It also means keeping tabs on your symptoms and being aware if any of them are worsening. Check in with your mental health professional or primary health provider. Connect with your family and friends and ask how they are doing with all the changes, and take turns getting and giving real answers.
Do things to support yourself. Your instinct may be to help the people around you and make sure they’re okay, but taking care of yourself is just as important. Here are a few things you can do to take care of yourself (We have another post with more tips that you can read here).
Take a break from the news and social media.
Take care of your body. Stretch, meditate, eat well, exercise, and get plenty of sleep.
Set aside time to relax.
Connect with others. Call, text, or video chat with friends and family.
For RespondersPeople who are taking care of others who have gotten sick from coronavirus or other conditions during this time are dealing with a lot of stress. If you are a health professional or essential worker, that strain can take its toll on you. Trauma experts know toxic stress from helping adults and children cope can lead to secondary traumatic stress (STS) reactions, similar to those from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). STS, aka Compassion Fatigue, is the strain a person feels after working to help someone else recover from their first-hand trauma. People with Compassion Fatigue can have symptoms affecting their mental and physical health. Here are a few things responders can do to reduce their STS reactions.
Acknowledge that secondary traumatic stress (STS) can impact anyone helping people after a traumatic event.
Watch for common symptoms: Cognitive - harder to concentrate, apathy, preoccupation with trauma; Emotional - guilt, anger, sadness, numbness; Behavioral - becoming withdrawn, changes in sleep, easier to startle; Physical - faster heart rate, unexpected pain, more severe medical concerns
Allow time for you and your family to recover from responding to the pandemic
Create a menu of personal self-care activities that you enjoy, such as spending time with friends and family, exercising, or reading a book.
Take a break from media coverage of COVID-19.
Ask for help if you feel overwhelmed or concerned that COVID-19 is affecting your ability to care for your family and patients as you did before the outbreak.
For people who have been released from quarantine
The CDC also knows being separated from everyone for a period of time due quarantine or medical isolation can be stressful. Then, reintegrating after quarantine can also be difficult. Everyone will feel differently post-quarantine, but some feelings include:
Mixed emotions, including relief after quarantine
Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones
Stress from the experience of monitoring yourself or being monitored by others for signs and symptoms of COVID-19
Sadness, anger, or frustration because friends or loved ones have unfounded fears of contracting the disease from contact with you, even though you have been determined not to be contagious
Guilt about not being able to perform normal work or parenting duties during quarantine
Other emotional or mental health changes
These are stressful times, but if we are kind to ourselves and others we can get through it while also taking care of our wellbeing.