Dr. Steven Rosenberg Advises: “Focus On Staying Positive, Learn Something New, and Help Others,” To Get Through COVID-19 and Beyond
Three decades of experience as a psychotherapist and behavioral specialist make Dr. Steven Rosenberg, Ph.D. an ideal candidate to help us with anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic and help us stay positive.
Dr. Rosenberg, a suburban Philadelphia specialist, is known for helping thousands of patients improve their work and sports performance, quit smoking, lose weight, manage anxiety, and de-stress.
His professional experience includes being the team psychotherapist for the Philadelphia Flyers, a consultant for the Perspective television series and he has helped many other professional and amateur athletes throughout the world.
So, based on his background, Authority Magazine was eager to ask him how those of us restricted by stay-at-home requirements, quarantine orders, and other restrictions will come out on the other side of the COVID-19 global health crisis. We also asked him for healthy habits we can adopt now that will help us once our “new normal” begins after weeks of social isolation.
How is your practice faring during these unprecedented times?
My last day in the office was March 12, and since then I have been talking to patients on the phone or via teleconference. It’s been a positive situation for everyone concerned. I started sneezing at home and realized I had allergies to things in my house. After a thorough cleaning and putting in an air cleaner, I am adapting better to being around the house all of the time.
Who are you with?
I am at home alone. My fiancé and I talk and teleconference every day. We have paid a few visits to each other while we were social distancing. So, it has been different, but I feel we are both doing well with it.
Please talk about the heroes on the front lines and how this type of crisis brings out the worst in us.
What we are finding is that there are more people doing acts of kindness. We really are in this together, so why not be kind? I have an older brother and sister-in-law who are not computer savvy, so I helped them get an app for their phone and placed their first order of food to be delivered.
People want to get involved in helping their friends and neighbors. A friend of mine owns a manufacturing company that had to close, so he was forced to furlough his employees. He has since retooled the plant so that it can make plastic shields to give them to doctors and hospitals. He started a go fund me page to help pay for the project. One way that you can help other people is to support initiatives like this.
How do we best survive being quarantined with our families?
Overall, I find I am primarily talking to patients who are extremely concerned about their finances. I talk to a lot of business people and their businesses are not operating at a level they would like them to be. And they feel negative about when they can open and what it will look like when they do. They also are well aware that there is nothing they can do about it. So, there is a feeling of grief. They are grieving for life as we once knew it; that life that was only 7–8 weeks ago.
If we had a specific date when businesses could re-open would that help? Is it the fear of the unknown that adds to stress and anxiety?
Yes, that would go a long way to making a lot of my people feel better. I spoke to a head chef who owns 10 restaurants and he’s afraid if he operates at a 25 to 50 percent capacity that he’s allowed to operate, he won’t be able to pay rent and pay his employees. No one is sure that the public is ready to come back to dining out. And the government stimulus will only go so far, so he doesn’t know financially if he will be able to go back and open all of the restaurants.
I have heard that like the “freshman 15” many of us gained in college, we are looking at the “COVID-19” as extra weight we will have gained being cooped up at home. The stores keep running out of baking items, ice cream, and other comfort food. What does this mean?
You are at home. You want comfort foods. People are looking forward to taking a break and having something to eat. Cooking can be a nice distraction to what you don’t want to do, which is working. There is no question that it’s human nature when you are locked into a situation like we are in that you want to feel better and food makes you feel better.
Some of my patients are on a meal program in which they get the food shipped to them, while others are following my diet plan based on my 2010 book (written with Bobbie Freiberg, who lost 45 pounds on this diet), 15–150 Secret to Simple Dieting, and they are having trouble staying on their eating plan.
What can we do to combat this?
I would recommend planning a menu. If you can plan you can definitely stay on a fairly healthy food regiment. The problem is that a lot of the stores are running out of certain products, so you have to be patient and creative and try to make things as healthy as possible.
Please tell me more about your weight loss techniques.
For most people, it takes more than a simple set of eating rules to diet effectively; what they don’t usually know is that healthy eating is a lifestyle, not a habit. Gaining weight is easy; losing weight is the difficult part. Many have tried dieting and exercising, but oftentimes, people don’t succeed because not everyone is that committed. First, people should know that picking the right diet does not only mean losing one’s weight, but also keeping the person healthy.
This usually requires giving up foods the person loves, in exchange for not-so-appetizing meals; which takes a major toll on a person’s mental and physical health. Second, the person should be committed to it, because dieting can be stressful and discouraging. If the person has trouble following the diet or it seems not to be working for the person, then the stress can lead the person back to the very thing he or she is cutting down — food. These and other helpful things and instructions will help anyone; who is on the diet track, find a way to lose the extra pounds; and live a healthier lifestyle.
Do you have a recipe that you want to share?
Yes, my recipe for cabbage soup that tastes great and you can do it with canned goods that you may have in your cupboard.
Dr. Rosenberg’s “Souper Soup” Recipe:
Take green peppers, several whole tomatoes (fresh or canned), 5 large onions, 1 large head of cabbage, and 1 large celery bunch. Seasoning can be done with 8 beef or chicken bouillon cubes, or dry onion soup mix, along with other herbal seasonings as desired.
For those who are on salt-restricted diets, omit the canned vegetables and use fresh or frozen instead. Bouillon cubes that are sodium-free can also be used as a seasoning. Celery is also high in sodium and sometimes is left off.
Vary the seasoning for effect. Cut and chop all vegetables into small chunks. Boil in water with seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste for at least 10 minutes. Lower heat and simmer until the desired consistency of vegetables is reached. Increase or decrease water in the pot while cooking to get the desired thickness of the soup. The soupier it is, the better, and the more filling it is. The soup may be eaten in unlimited amounts before, after, and in between meals, plus at bedtime.
You may also add certain vegetables, such as mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, and okra. If there are certain vegetables you DON’T like, do not put them in the soup and substitute another non-starchy vegetable instead.
A delicious stew can be made by taking one or two pints of the prepared mix and placing it into a crockpot with three ounces of chopped or sliced chicken, turkey, fish, shrimp, or other seafood. Let it cook all day with the appropriate spices and herbs, so that it will be ready for the evening meal. You can also let it cook all night and have it ready for lunch the next day. Enjoy!
We know a lot of us are anxious, so what can we do to stay calm and sane during COVID-19 and the fact that our lives are in limbo waiting for new social norms?
I like to encourage people to learn something new. If they haven’t tried meditation this a perfect time to try to learn it. I work with all of my patients on teaching them to mediate and it has made a world of difference. I strongly believe that meditation is better than medication.
Why do you feel that way?
Because you are able to clear your mind and focus on the present. If we let our minds wander on the past we always go to the negativity of the past and if we wander into the future — we also go to negativity The TV news sensationalizes the negative.
So, if you can escape from that for just a few minutes you are going to give yourself a well-deserved vacation from the negativity of your past and from the negativity of the world and you will feel and sense the moment. You can meditate while you take a walk outside. You can then feel the air and sense of the birds, take note of nature, take note of the things that you see around you.
How do we avoid cabin fever when we are required to stay home?
One of the most important things is to be able to do for others. Be in touch with people, too. If there are people you know who need something, try to help them out. Guide them on the proper way of acquiring food like Instacart.
So, my best advice is to reach out to people you haven’t spoken to in a long time. You have the time, so use it to connect with someone. Celebrate your success. Get some more at-home projects going with yourselves and your children and have a party to celebrate that success.
What do you think our “new normal” will look like?
Honestly, this is such an unprecedented period of history that that is a difficult question. I come from a scientific background so I feel that the new normal will involve social distancing because we don’t have a vaccine, which will take time. Until there is a vaccine, people will have to take precautions.
The future is going to look like us continuing to act carefully — wearing face masks in public, washing your hands, not touching your face, and social distancing. All of these things we need to do to be safe. Life has changed in every respect.
How much news are you watching each day?
I suggest picking one trusted news source and don’t fixate on the news. I spoke to an elderly couple and the man was getting depressed. I told him to stop watching so much news and find other things to do. It’s amazing how attracted to the negativity all of us get, while the positivity is what builds us up.
When can we open sports arenas, hold live concerts and stage shows?
If they play baseball, hockey, basketball, and football, they may have to play to empty stadiums. It’s all going to definitely be different, but it’s always been about saving lives during this pandemic.
Life will go back to somewhat of a normal situation, but not for a while, and we need to focus on what we have in our lives and be grateful for it. If you have gratitude and optimism for the future — things will be brighter for you.
Tell me about working with the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team.
It has been a wonderful situation keeping pro athletes motivated. I do that with a lot of pro athletes, not just hockey players. The golfers should be able to get out there one of these days. I had an area pro golfer who came in at the end of last season with severe back pain. I taught him to visualize winning and the next day he won a $100,000 tournament prize. That’s what I like so much about sports psychology. I have them visualize what they are going to do in their mind.
How does this work?
In your mind you always do it correctly it’s a mental rehearsal for doing things the right way — so you will succeed. If I were to have you lie down on an easy chair and I hooked you up with a biofeedback machine on your arm, I would ask you to imagine throwing a ball. Those muscles would contract as if you were throwing a ball even though you are laying still on the chair. Hall of fame athletes all learned how to visualize by themselves before this became a popular tool. That is the difference between a marginal player and an All-star.
What if your dreams or goals are bigger than your abilities?
I believe in making lists of your goals and at some point in the future, we will be able to carry them out. A year goes by very rapidly. You need to be optimistic!
