DEALING WITH VIRUS ANXIETY
Don’t forget to breathe, doctors say
We’re told to work from home. Schools, gyms and libraries are closed. And if we’re so inclined, we can watch the count of people infected with COVID-19, the influenza-like illness that has made its way from China around the world, go up from one minute to the next.
Objectively, one can understand how a pandemic causes anxiety, says Tina Montreuil, an assistant professor in Mcgill University’s department of educational and counselling psychology and a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders.
Anxiety is a normal response in the face of COVID -19, much of which is unknown and seems beyond our control. And some anxiety can be productive, in making us vigilant and having us modify our behaviour in ways that will protect us, like washing our hands and keeping a social distance from one another, said Dr. Christine Grou, president of the Ordre des psychologues du Québec.
“The more you normalize anxiety, the less you view it as a problem and the less it is going to be amplified,” Montreuil said in an interview on Monday.
“A small amount of anxiety enables me to be prepared, alert to what has to get done and to be motivated to do so.”
However, too much anxiety is not good — on many levels. It causes people to stop being rational and we anticipate negative, or catastrophic, scenarios, Grou said.
Anxiety is a concern for something that could happen, but there is a disconnect between the probability that it will happen and the fear that it will, she said on Monday. “What the mind imagines is infinitely worse than the reality.”
Cognitively, too much anxiety is not good because it keeps us from thinking or behaving rationally, Montreuil said. Think hoarding toilet paper or, worse, fighting over it.
“When we see everyone running to empty the shelves in stores, we start to be afraid that we will not have enough food, we are afraid of shortages and we think that, if everyone else is stockpiling, we will be the only ones who will go without,” Grou said.
And it is not good for our health because the more anxious we are, the more our brain secretes a hormone called cortisol, which acts to suppress the immune system and our ability to fight infection.
“When we are very anxious, we tend to get sick more easily,” Montreuil said.
“We all have a threshold for how tolerant we are of uncertainty, but some people have a greater need for control,” she said.
“People who are intolerant of uncertainty get excessively anxious. They say ‘What if this?’ or ‘What if that?’ ”
They see a situation as more dire than it actually is.
Last week’s announcements by the provincial government of a range of measures, from school closings to a ban on visits to nursing homes, had a paradoxical effect, Grou said.
“Now people are much more protected — but also more worried, because they think the situation is more serious than a few days ago,” she said.
But human beings are an adaptable bunch. “People learned that the schools were closed. People were afraid; Friday was the worst day. Parents had kids at home, grandparents who couldn’t look after them,” Grou said
Then they took the weekend, and by Monday things seemed better.
“The news is less new,” she said. People remain anxious, but the anxiety is no longer at a peak, she said.
We cannot control how the virus will spread or how many will be affected. But there are things we can control, like washing our hands and keeping a distance from one another — and doing pleasurable things that divert some of our worry so we remain grounded, said Montreuil and Grou.
Relaxing and simply breathing. Keeping your body calm. The gym is off-limits but many online workout options exist. Getting out for a walk. Shopping for groceries, without hoarding. Watching a television series: go for light rather than apocalyptic, Grou suggests. Reading. Face-timing a friend. Knitting. Colouring with your kids.
It’s important to be informed about COVID-19 developments, but check the news two or three times a day, not constantly. To be overexposed to the news cycle serves only to make people more anxious, Grou said, and “gives one the impression that things are worse than they are.”
Finally, if you still feel overwhelmed, consider seeking professional help. People can connect remotely with therapists via such services as Skype or Zoom.
“When you need help, psychologists are there to help you,” said Grou.