Are you experiencing irritability, anger or fear recently? Maybe you are having flashbacks or recurrent nightmares. It is not uncommon to feel this way in the face of a global event like the COVID-19 pandemic and here is why.
After the SARS outbreak in 2003, many people experienced symptoms of depression, anxiety and even PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Not all of these people were front-line healthcare workers; many who experienced symptoms were self-quarantined or on the sidelines.
According to experts, The COVID-19 pandemic could have a similar effect. You might feel embarrassed or ashamed to admit what you are feeling. After all, PTSD is a disorder commonly associated with extreme physical or emotional trauma such as combat, serious accidents, terrorist attacks, and physical assault. Comparatively, the current pandemic may or may not feel as extreme depending on what you’re going through.
It is understandable that anxiety, PTSD and depression can affect healthcare workers providing frontline services. You might even find it plausible that it affects those who have lost loved ones or coworkers due to the disease. But did you know that something as serious as anxiety, depression or PTSD can affect people who have lost jobs or have repeatedly seen disturbing pictures or read article after article about the pandemic? What about those who have managed to either stay healthy throughout this crisis or have contracted and survived COVID-19 relatively symptom free, when friends or family have either lost a loved one or have died? If this sounds like you, you may be at greater risk for developing long-term difficulties.
Those who struggle with mental health conditions or who have a prior history of trauma may be at increased risk of ongoing distress. The truth is everyone is affected in one way or another. Your feelings or symptoms, no matter how slight or severe, are valid. Don’t stuff them down or ignore them.
Even if you aren't clinically diagnosed with a mental illness, you may have a strong emotional reaction to the trauma of COVID-19 that can last long after an incident.
The pandemic has been a significant stressor in everyone's lives. It is in the news almost exclusively. It is all anyone talks about. You can’t avoid being inundated with the overwhelming statistics of those who have died, alarming unemployment rates, huge economic impact and more. We don’t have any idea what the fallout will be or how long this will last. What we do know from studying past crises is that the global impact on mental health can be greater than the impact on physical health.
Why isn’t this being given the attention it deserves?
I am not a doctor, but as a life and relationship coach, I have seen my share of people in crisis. Although it is the very basis for Eastern medicine and philosophy, it is often overlooked in Western culture that everything is connected. We are all connected. If your physical health is compromised, so is your mental health and vice versa. Why we as a society tend to overlook mental health is perhaps another blog post, but I believe in part it has to do with a societal and perhaps global stigma attached to mental illness. Just as there is no shame in being physically compromised, there is no shame in being mentally compromised. I coach those with either mental or physical illness to pay strict attention to both. Your wellbeing depends on it.
While it's impossible to predict what the “new normal” will be, there are some things we can do in the present to help.
Become Aware of Trauma Symptoms and How Long They Last
After a traumatic incident, people experience a number of symptoms including invasive thoughts like nightmares or upsetting memories, high levels of stress or irritability, and difficulty sleeping. People often feel hyper-vigilant or have trouble concentrating. Often, people enter a state of denial and may avoid thinking about an incident as a way of coping. It isn’t helpful.
To be diagnosed with PTSD, clinical depression or anxiety disorder, someone would have a certain number of all these symptoms over a long period of time. But even if you're not diagnosed with full-blown PTSD, anxiety or depression, anyone can experience psychological symptoms after a traumatic or stressful event. Pay attention.
It's normal to have an intense emotional response to a significant threat or traumatic incident like a pandemic, but typically, symptoms tend to naturally abate over time.
There tends to be an onslaught of symptoms right away, and then after about three to four months, they start to get better on their own.
However, sometimes the symptoms don't get better with time.
If you're still having symptoms that interfere with your daily life, then it's worth getting help. Here are a few tips to maintaining health during COVID-19.
Pay Attention to your Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors
We have over 30,000 thoughts a day. Notice which of those thoughts you choose to recognize. What is your self talk? How is it making you feel? What is it causing you to do?
For example, if you spend all day ruminating that you're going to get sick or lose your job, then you might go home and drink or get high to feel better. I don’t judge either of those practices as right or wrong, but when you use things like alcohol or cannabis to self-medicate, it can quickly become problematic.
If your thought patterns tend to be "black and white or catastrophic," how is that serving you? Recognize that if your thoughts are distorted, your behavior may follow suit.
Unplug from the News
Every news media organization has its own agenda. There are those that are dedicated to reporting the truth, but the vast majority of news outlets are overwhelmingly concerned with reporting that which gains them notoriety and increases profits. Irresponsible journalism runs rampant in times of crisis. Everyone is competing for readership. Since COVID-19 has all but taken over news coverage, journalists tend to get very creative and may push ethical envelopes when deciding on a headline or a photo. You can’t always believe what you read, but you can believe your body’s reaction to it. Words, carefully placed, are powerful things.
Reach Out to Friends and Family
Talk to others; not to complain or over-emote, but to have healthy dialog about what you and those close to you are feeling and experiencing. Listen as well as talk. Understanding that you are not alone via healthy human interaction can be very therapeutic.
The good news and in part what I base my practice on, is I believe humans are extremely resilient creatures. Although it might feel difficult at the moment, healthy coping mechanisms and social supports can help you get through this. This too shall pass. Maintaining the strategies that you know are effective now can help you ensure you're not suffering months down the road.
I’m Coach Katelyn, and I specialize in helping people overcome negative patterns in their life to unlock ease and abundance. If this feels like you or someone close to you, please comment below, email me with your story or contact me for an appointment.