How to cope with anxiety in the age of Covid-19
After more than a year of living in and out of lockdown, many of us have become accustomed to higher levels of stress and anxiety.
For example, a study conducted at the Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, revealed that anxiety-related searches were about 11 per cent higher than usual over the 58 days after a national emergency was declared in the US on March 13, 2020. Overall, the study found 3.4 million total searches for anxiety, about 375,000 more than the usual numbers.
But now that vaccination programmes are accelerating, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, that doesn’t mean that anxiety is going away any time soon — particularly for those who have had Covid-19.
According to an observational study published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal that compared a group of people who’d contracted Covid-19 with two other related groups, researchers concluded that Covid was associated with more subsequent psychological or neurological conditions than other respiratory illnesses.
They found that sufferers were 16 per cent more likely to develop a disorder post-Covid, and the more severely ill they had been, the more likely they were to receive a mental health or brain disorder diagnosis.
As reported by the BBC, the study found that anxiety and mood disorders were the most common diagnosis among those with Covid, and these were more likely to be related to the stress of being very ill or taken to hospital.
Fear of what lies ahead…
Those of us fortunate enough to have escaped a Covid diagnosis may not have had to deal with the threat of neurological disorders, but may still be feeling anxious about what lies ahead.
And that’s key to understanding anxiety. According to Professor Jonathan Huppert, Associate Professor of Psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: “Anxiety is a future-oriented emotional reaction, often associated with worry. It’s about trying to prevent a future-oriented threat, and is more associated with muscle tension, irritability, lack of concentration and difficulty with sleep.
“Anxiety is actually one of the most basic emotions in terms of evolutionary function. We feel anxious in order to keep ourselves safe. When we notice a threat in our environment, the natural emotional reaction is anxiety. That’s what the fight or flight system is about.”
He divides anxiety into three parts: thoughts, physical reactions and behaviours. A lot of anxious thoughts are appraisals of threat that will lead to physical sensations such as a racing heart, dry mouth, dizziness and muscle tension.
Then there are the behaviours that we engage in as a result of anxious thoughts or feelings, which are often about trying to run away (the flight response).
Tips on how to cope with anxiety
So what is the best way to cope with anxiety? Here’s a summary of a few of Professor Huppert’s recommendations (from a presentation delivered at the start of the pandemic):
- Cognitive coping: First of all, adjusting our appraisal of perceived threats and accepting that the risk of truly terrible outcomes is really low. Second, talking with friends and other people you haven’t spoken to for a while, or catching up on books or movies.
- Avoid thinking traps: Ruminating or brooding on negative thoughts is not helpful but neither is suppressing them. It’s best to accept these thoughts but then invest your cognitive resources in productive thinking about what you can do to make yourself feel better.
- Physiological coping: Techniques such as mindfulness meditation, breathing, relaxation, prayer, guided visualisation, art, exercise, warm baths — all of these can help reduce physiological stress. Listening to music also has proven benefits.*
- Active connection: Isolation exacerbates anxiety, especially if you feel overwhelmed by 24/7 rolling news. Stay in touch with friends and family — but not by scrolling through social media posts! Actively reach out and arrange meetings with people you know are going to be supportive — people who won’t judge or try to fix you.
No matter what we might believe, life is essentially uncertain — it’s just that when unpredictable global events such as pandemics occur, life seems even more uncertain than usual, and that can lead to increased anxiety.
If you are feeling anxious, there is another excellent option. Zgmund App offers anonymous emotional support groups facilitated by empathic AI, where you can chat with like-minded people and share your feelings in a safe and supportive environment.
*In a fascinating study conducted by Dr David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International, one song in particular produced a greater state of relaxation than any other music tested to date. Weightless, by Marconi Union, resulted in a 65 per cent reduction in participants’ overall anxiety, and a 35 per cent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates.
Originally published on Zgmund.com, April 12, 2021 (https://www.zgmund.com/blog/a004/)
