Medical Experts Share Guide to Best Practices for Reducing Panic and Anxiety During Coronavirus
COVID-19 is impacting every
of our daily life. Often overlooked is the impact this is having on our mental health. First responders, medical professionals on the front lines, and the everyday person alike are battling real mental health challenges on a daily basis.
Dr. Asim Shah, chief of Psychiatry for Harris Health System’s Ben Taub Hospital and Professor and Executive Vice Chair of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, has some advice on how we can best maintain our mental wellbeing in times of crisis.
“Right now what we’re seeing is the panic is bigger than the disease,” says Dr. Shah. While it’s normal to feel panic in the face of the unknown, there is a difference between handling these uncertainties in a panicked way and an appropriate, calm way.” By looking at the facts, argues Dr. Shah, we can gauge the appropriate response.
The facts: COVID-19 is highly contagious, more so than flu with a death rate between 1-2%. The 2% is extremely important, says Dr. Shah, but we must also remember the other 98%, which can help us gauge our anxiety.
Though everybody’s capacity for anxiety is different, there are things we can do.
1. Limit televised news intake. Cable news uses emotion to illicit a response. According to Dr. Shah, news is best consumed with as little emotion as possible. He suggests reading a trusted newspaper instead.
2. Social media is contributing to the panic. Dr. Shah recommends we stop forwarding inflammatory content that we have not personally factchecked. Instead, focus your social connections positively. Use FaceTime instead of Facebook. 3. Stop hoarding. There is no food shortage. Hoarding hurts those of us who can’t afford to stock up on essential items by creating scarcity where it shouldn’t otherwise exist.
Dr. Shah sees three groups who are most susceptible to mental health issues caused by anxiety. While special consideration should be paid to children under five years old and those with addiction or mental illnesses, our first responders and medical professionals are particularly vulnerable.
For those on the front lines of this fight, Dr. Shah recognizes there’s a lot of anxiety present. He stresses the need for what he calls an “airplane approach” to health care. When on an airplane, you’re instructed to put your own mask on before you assist others. It is the same with critical care. Medical professionals need to make sure their own mental and physical health is okay before trying to help others. Friends and family members of health care providers should do everything in their power to help them decompress, including thanking them for their service.
On the medical nursing side, Leslye Davis-Smith, MSN, RN, Nurse Professional Development Specialist and member of the executive nursing practice group at Harris Health System, says, “Research clearly states that doctors and nurses may respond more strongly to the stresses of a major health event,” Which is why Harris Health has a number of systems and resources in place to help the hospital staff with their mental health in this critical time.
“I want to stress our nurses have been unbelievable with their incredible, cohesive response,” says Davis-Smith. She cites the quick and efficient sharing of accurate information, which comes straight from authorities like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, then is assimilated throughout Harris Health System by a network of support managers and nursing teams on the ground.
Nurses, doctors and first responders are closely monitored by the executive staff as well as appropriately scheduled to help avoid burn out and fatigue. Nurses have formed teams that consistently work together in order to foster an environment of accountability and support within each unit. As an education specialist with a mental health focus, Davis-Smith spends her time walking the floors of the hospitals, checking in with staff in real time and giving anyone who needs the opportunity to talk a chance to do so. She also cites the presence of chaplains whose job it is to facilitate the mental health of Harris Health’s staff.
Most importantly, says Davis-Smith, health care workers need to stay in the here and now and focus on what they can control. “Lack of control elicits anxious emotions in humans. Instead, recall that mild anxiety has a protective component and can
actually helps us do our job better. It can increase alertness and focus, which can be very important during caregiving activities during these critical times.”
For health care providers, this means limited visitors, keeping close watch over PPEs and continued adherence to hand sanitization guidelines. “Challenge yourself to stay in the present,” says Davis-Smith, “and don’t try to predict too far into the future.”
The rest of her advice is valuable for everyone and echoes what Dr. Shah says we can all do to lessen our anxiety. Do what you can control. Wash your hands. Eat healthy. Practice social distancing. Limit the things that make you anxious. Keep in contact with family and friends.
As for our health care professionals, the public should know how valiant and courageous they are. “I can’t stress enough what I’ve seen in our hospitals,” says Davis-Smith. “How outstanding, engaged, and selfless the nurses are in providing the care they do.”
But this is only possible when we are all aware of our mental health, our anxiety stressors, and who the most vulnerable to these stressors are amongst us. We are counting on our health care providers now more than ever and we need them at their best. Says Dr. Shah, “Health care professionals have a responsibility to take care of themselves first, so that they can take care of others.”
For more information on the Coronavirus, please visit: www.harrishealth.org