Protecting mental health during social isolation

COVID-19 will change our lives for a while. How it affects us right now depends on how we approach it.

The past few weeks and the foreseeable future are laden with uncertainty. The more we worry about uncertainty, the more anxious we will become. The more anxious we get the more likely we are to panic. Panic breeds panic, and so the cycle can continue until we feel overwhelmed.

COVID-19 threatens our minds as well as bodies

By now we are aware of the implications of COVID-19 for our physical health. Real emergency planning meetings are going on, strategies being put in place, and worldwide attempts being made to slow this down in the hope of saving lives.

Like the physical danger of COVID-19, there are serious implications for our mental health. Worrying about a future we cannot change is like sitting on a rocking chair - you will spend time and energy rocking back and forward, but won’t have moved anywhere.

It’s natural to feel worried about such a serious situation, but excessive worry could be very damaging to our mental health. Excessive worry could lead to more people developing anxiety disorders, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

When we are anxious or worry, we tend to do things to try and reduce our feelings of anxiety. We usually avoid, distract ourselves, and/or seek safety or comfort. Unfortunately, these activities only offer short-term relief from the anxiety.

What COVID-19 anxiety looks like

With regards to COVID-19, the activities appear to be checking, avoiding, and safety-seeking behaviours.

We do need to be more intentional about handwashing and keep ourselves and our living spaces clean to reduce our chances of being infected. Social distancing and isolation are evidence-based measures we all must follow as best we can to slow down the spread of the virus and help our health service cope.

These checking, avoiding and safety measures are necessary right now - but it’s easy to take them too far.

Avoidance can become habitual so as not to catch any germs. Social isolation will be beneficial in the short term, however longer term you could lose structure to your day, lose interest in others and in activities that normally please you, and find your mood becomes low. Left unchecked, it’s a habit that could lead to you not wanting to get out of bed in the morning.

Checking can get out of hand. Checking the news channels, checking out what we are like compared to other countries in the world, reading every COVID-19 article on social media. Checking over and over for symptoms. Not forgetting googling the symptoms.

This can build up into anxiety, which can show up in our body as part of its fight or flight response. As adrenaline and stress hormones enter our bloodstream, we can feel nauseated, hot and sweaty, our hearts might race and our throats feel dry.

It can be easy to mistake these for signs of illness and become even more distressed.

Cleaning helps ensure we don’t contract the virus or give it to anyone else. At its extreme, anxiety can trick us into believing that without the cleaning something awful will happen - we see this type of thought pattern in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

In a pandemic scenario, there is a degree of fact in that, which can make it difficult to draw the line between ‘enough’ and ‘too much’. If cleaning and re-cleaning forms the focus and structure of your day, this will eventually cripple your ability to function.

Protecting our mental health in a time of uncertainty

We need to keep ourselves mentally well as well as physically. To do that, we need to acknowledge our fears and anxieties and put in place healthier measures. Along with healthier measures, we have added some links to sites or apps people have told us they have found helpful. We plan to regularly update these as more of you feedback on what you find helpful.

These healthier measures could include: -

Avoid excessive exposure to media coverage.

That could mean choosing one news bulletin per day to watch. Often the 6 or 10 o’clock has a good round-up of the day. Avoid social media scaremongers - don’t join COVID-19 groups unless they are for offering community support. The minute they begin posting non-evidence-based information or stories, remove yourself from them. Rumours and fake news create confusion which only leads to more anxiety.

Begin to build a new structure to your day.

Get up, washed and dressed no matter how you feel. Lying around in your PJs just tells your brain you don’t need the motivation to get up today.

Eat regularly and exercise, even if it’s just in your back garden.

Our brains release adrenaline when we feel anxious and exercise is a great way to burn that off and feel calmer.

Joe Wicks - http://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1

When feeling overwhelmed by it all - BREATHE.

Breathe deeply, slowly and mindfully. Regulating your breathing activates your body’s natural soothing system - the parasympathetic nervous system - which calms us down.

Headspace - http://www.headspace.com/

Connect.

Social isolation and lockdown are our temporary new normal. It’s a break from the hectic lifestyles we have become accustomed to and it might be good for some of us to unplug. Why not take this as a new opportunity, rather than a limitation? Create your community in your home. Be accountable to each other and check on how everyone else is feeling. Use the internet positively to connect with family. Write letters and send cards. Spend quality time watching movies or playing games together.

Should you feel that all of this is out of control for you, look for help. Speak to your GP about getting referred for help.

Cognitive behaviour therapy could be the key to your future. If your GP is unable to facilitate help at these times, please feel to contact us, or a therapist in your local area. Maybe it’s time to see what is possible.