End of Pandemic Will Take Virus Away But May Leave Stress Response

Release Time：2022-06-02 10:45:53

PTSD- Post-traumatic stress disorder

A word we often hear only in movies and TV shows may be coming closer to us this spring with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. It may be a condition that you or someone you know develops.

I. What is stress response?

Stress response is a series of non-specific responses that our body makes when it is stimulated by external adverse factors before specific pathological damage happens.

Sounds abstract? Let's take an example.

When a rabbit is being chased by a wolf, she immediately begins to run or tries to find a place to hide, but, if severely frightened, when hiding in the hole, she may have some symptoms, such as loud bruxism, horizontal strain of beard, ear close to head, crouching in the corner and shivering. More seriously, the rabbit may suffer from tooth root abscess, bowel obstruction, and diarrhea. Of course, in most cases, these symptoms will be relieved as the danger disappears, when the rabbit feels secure and finally returns to normal.

You may be laughing and saying, "Timid rabbit." But sometimes it has nothing to do with whether you are brave or not.

Just imagine, if the wolf stays outside the rabbit’s hole for several days. At the life-threatening moment, the rabbit has been in extreme nervousness for days, and the stress response has lasted for a long time. Then, it may be difficult for the rabbit's body to self-adjust to the normal state.

The poor rabbit would develop what we have described as PTSD — in her short life, she has encountered such a horrible thing, under the watch of a wolf. This will leave her with psychic trauma that is difficult to recover.

This kind of stress response, which is persistent and difficult to recover naturally, is what we want to emphasize in this article and needs our vigilance and attention: During the special period of quarantine, when we are faced with various worries and problems, our stress index will soar, and we may experience emotional reactions such as worry, fear, tension and depression. When such emotions are not relieved for a long time, physical symptoms, namely physiological reactions, may occur. What are the symptoms?

II. What are the stress responses that possibly happen?

Under the pandemic, we are surrounded by all kinds of negative information, and may develop all kinds of stress responses including changes in mood, thinking and behavior.

Changes in mood: excessive tension, anxiety, irritability, depression, indifference, sadness, and even fear, losing temper, crying and shouting.

Changes in thinking: difficulty in concentrating and staying focused; paying attention only to the news of pandemic and discussing the risk of virus with others; Memory loss, hesitation, difficulty expressing and understanding in communication also can occur.

Behavioral changes: restlessness, helplessness, trying to get sense of security through repeated behaviors, such as cleaning and checking body temperature again and again; daze, unwillingness to talk.

Physical changes: nausea, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea; Chest distress, chest pain, palpitation; Headache, weakness of lower limbs; Frequent micturition; Muscle tension, shivering, sweating; Poor appetite; Poor sleep (difficulty falling asleep, light sleep, multiple dreams and nightmares, early awakening).

III. How to cope with stress response?

No matter which condition you have, please remember that it is a natural response of your body and mind, not a test or punishment for you.

Why should this be emphasized? Because many people have unnecessary and incorrect shame of emotional symptoms, wondering: Is it because I have too many negative emotions? Am I too fragile to withstand a little pressure? Do I expect too much from others and the society? Some people even think that they are sick because they are not doing things well enough and should be punished.

This kind of psychological burden is really unwanted!

To deal with stress response, the first thing we need to do is face it, admit it, and treat it as an ordinary illness that needs attention. And then we can adjust ourselves from the following two aspects.

The first one is psychological aspect. What can we do for ourselves internally, mentally and spiritually?

1. Embrace emotions

Psychologically, the first thing you should do is embrace your emotions. Earlier in your life, you may have been taught to "manage your emotions", to eliminate negative emotions and fill yourself with positive ones.

In recent years, however, a growing number of psychologists have begun to suggest that we don't need to label negative emotions immediately, let alone eliminate them — emotions themselves are, in fact, indestructible. The more we fight against them, the stronger they become, and this will exhaust us both physically and mentally.

2. Don't force yourself to confront negative emotions

Then what's the right way to deal with negative emotions? There are two options you can try.

First, take your attention away to something else. When the negative emotion is severe, you can try to interrupt it, find something you are interested in or enjoy, shift the attention to other areas, and relax the tense nerves.

Second, keep your negative emotion at a proper distance—neither too far nor too close. Treat your distressing thought as someone else's or one separate from your own. Imagine how you would handle it if the thought did not belong to you, but to a family member or close friend. What would you say to your family and friend? In this way, we can get rid of the negative emotions. Wang Guowei, a Chinese historian and poet said, "gain deep insights into something, then go beyond and look at it from an external perspective". Maybe this is a good way to deal with our emotions and feelings.

3. Seek freshness and emotional support in your life

In addition to dealing with the emotions that already exist, you can also actively seek something different that can help your body get new stimulation and joy. Even if you can't go out, try to get up and stretch your body, walk around, look out of the window, and get some fresh air.

But if you've had a busy day working online and you're starting to feel dizzy and depressive, you must have a rest and move. Sit quietly in a different room, or "gather" with friends online via audio, video or text to ask for or offer emotional support and care.

Love your body. When you feel tired, that's the signal sent by it for help. Don't make yourself helpless.

4. Protect yourself and disconnect from the online information appropriately

Most of the time, there is no absolute threat to our life, but media makes us so close to the negative news that we cannot help empathizing with it. Paying attention to social events is a civic duty, but if you're already experiencing physical discomfort, it's time to distance yourself from negative information.

Reduce the time online and your attention to the information that causes anxiety, and focus on the present moment in your life, like what to make for your next meal, what movie to watch, and if you are going to follow Liu Genghong, an Internet celebrity, to take exercise? Fill your body and mind with the true feelings of your real life.

These are the self-help measures that we can take psychologically. Psychologists believe that positive autosuggestion and emotions can help us out of anxiety and depression. Self-help is never useless.

The second type of self-adjustment is on the physical aspect.

There are three things you can do:

1. Have a regular routine for working and resting

Try to maintain the same daily schedule as before the lockdown, have meals and sleep on time, and take exercise appropriately. This can be helpful to keep a good mood and health, and is also the foundation for your body to resist the attack of the virus.

2. Learn abdominal breathing to relax

If you've ever practiced meditation or yoga, you’re no stranger to abdominal breathing. First, take a deep breath and let the air reach your stomach, then slowly exhale it through your nose or mouth. Your stomach bulges when you inhale and contracts when you exhale. Keep your breathing steady. Count as you inhale and tell yourself to relax when exhaling. Focus on your breathing and try to clear your mind. 10 minutes is enough at a time.

3. Do progressive muscle relaxation training

Gradually tense and relax the muscles of your whole body, and experience the sense of relaxation after tension. Tense muscle groups (for about 7-10 seconds), such as clenching your fist, and then releasing it quickly (for about 10 seconds), from the upper limbs to the face, neck, chest and abdomen and then to the legs. If a part of the body is obviously tight, you can practice for it for many times.

Hope the measures above will help you. If you still have continuous insomnia, depression, fear and anxiety after trying these measures, and self-help does not work, you should seek professional psychological crisis intervention or mental health services in time, and face-to-face psychological counseling and crisis intervention can be carried out if you can.

Life is full of unexpectedness, but it still keeps going. Even if isolated at home, never forget that a peach blossom outside the window is always waiting for you, a healthy you. Never lose faith under any circumstances.