The Emotional Crisis of COVID-19: A Call to Action

Meh synth Schlitz, tempor duis single-origin coffee ea next level ethnic  As a psychologist working in Shenzhen, China, the COVID-19 crisis has felt like an emotional earthquake, for myself, my family, friends and clients. Media coverage related to the virus seems to be just as contagious as the virus itself. I can’t seem to recall any health related crisis that has been covered in this way. Of course this may be related to the particular properties of COVID-19. There is also the fact that today’s exchange of information allows us to implement precautionary measures which will undoubtedly save lives. These are actually really good things.

But one thing I am most concerned about is the emotional debris this info-demic is leaving in its wake. Today I want to highlight some key areas of concern firstly to raise awareness, but secondly as a call to action.

Lawmakers have the very important task of doing all they can to ensure the physical wellbeing of people globally. So it seems it is up to us – mental health professionals, counselors, educators, community members and just people who care – to step up.

Isolation and depression

With millions under lock-down and so many more undergoing quarantine as they transition from country to country, we find people reeling from the impact of isolation.

We are all social animals to some extent or the other. Some people thrive on constant interpersonal contact, others just need a small amount (a smile, another face, a short conversation). Very few of us are actually built for solitude. Its part of the reason that one of the harshest punishments in prisons is solitary confinement. This isolation can plunge people into deep states of loneliness and feelings of depression.

Individuals with existing mental health issues are likely to have them surface in times of isolation but this is definitely not limited to people with propensities towards depression and anxiety. When people are stripped of their regular coping strategies and routines, they are suddenly vulnerable to negative emotions emerging, those related to loneliness, ambiguity and fear.

Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety

Anxiety is our wacky human way of reacting to perceived threat as we would if a lion was chasing us (Sorry, my African roots needed to use the lion example). The problem is that we react as if our survival is immediately under threat in circumstances where we are far from becoming extinct!

A great example is that of students having panic attacks before exams. Never yet have I seen an exam paper that can grow teeth and devour the poor test-taker. Yet the fear of failure and judgment is so great, that the anxiety mechanism mimics the fear mechanism.

Anxiety is one of the biggest emotional plagues of our modern era. My educated estimate is that the Coronavirus crisis has caused a drastic rise in anxiety symptoms for thousands if not millions.

Health anxiety

With COVID-19, there is a real threat out there. Yet the ACTUAL threat to people differs according to location and risk-group. It isn’t always easy to process statistical chance as we go about our daily business. We act emotionally first. So we become afraid when we sneeze, when we touch something we perhaps wouldn’t have noticed before.

Hyper-vigilance – Oh my gosh, I have never personally noticed so many things. It makes us feel as if danger is lurking around every corner. But statistically speaking, the dangers of catching some sort of virus have always been there. We were just able to fade them into the background as we carried on our daily lives. Now the global hyper-vigilance makes us feel like that strange looking spikey virus image we see on the news is about to pop out of nowhere and devour us.

Health anxiety and overestimation of risk is one that many people are experiencing. The impact on children and people with an existing propensity towards health anxieties is likely to be greater.

Feeling under constant threat of infection can have an incredibly detrimental impact on emotional wellbeing. More worrying is that it might start off a chain of health anxieties which will continue far longer than the COVID-19 crisis.

Sometimes facts help to calm people but don’t be fooled into thinking that this is the ultimate tool. People are afraid, their deep emotional state is triggered and one of the core needs is to be validated, understood and comforted. 

Financial anxiety

While the health impact of the virus can actually be somewhat distant, the financial implications of the situation are often quite immediate. There are many stressors. Some people are unable to work at full capacity leading to diminished income. Others may be incurring high expenses as a result of not being able to return to their homes. Some have even lost gainful employment entirely. Financial burdens and anxieties are one of the most prominent stressors of our modern world and the current crisis is likely to trigger this to some extent in most people.

Instability and ambiguity

Our perception of control is often our biggest tool in fighting against anxiety. Our grip on normalcy and our routines often create a sense of empowerment which allows us to deal with the daily worries that come our way.

The problem now is that worries are increased but our sense of control is drastically diminished. In a reality which is constantly changing, we are left feeling helpless without anything we can cling to in order to lower anxiety.

This lack of stability is likely to generate a very uncomfortable sense of being unsettled.

Relational stressors

The current situation is definitely wreaking havoc on relational structures.

Some common situations include:

1. Families living in close quarters for days on end without contact with others
2. Children engaging in online schooling which necessitates parental involvement in a way that neither party is used to.
3. Families separated due to circumstances related to quarantines, country borders closing and others.

Any situation that drastically changes the family relational structure is likely to cause stress. While there is always the potential for growth, the individual challenges experienced by each family member during this time are likely to ping-pong off each other.

A Call To Action

 While we can go on and on about the difficulties and potential harm of the situation, it is time to put our heads together to see how we can mitigate the negative impact of this situation on our families, friends and community members.

If we look at a level of core human needs, we must remember that people need

1. Validation of their emotional experience to feel that they are understood
2. Comfort and support to feel like they are not alone 

What can we do?

1. Reach out to your immediate contacts and just check in to see how they are. Often times sharing your own vulnerability and concerns can engage people in conversation
2. Create sharing opportunities in your classroom, religious or social community. Find a way to allow people to talk and share. This lowers the sense of isolation and allows people to feel empowered by the collective.
3. Create initiatives to support others: Get togethers (online or offline), discussion groups, group projects.
4. So many local businesses are struggling at this time and as a community it is so important to show that we care. This is the time where we can reach out, show solidarity and support of local business owners.

When a community is in crisis, we all have the opportunity to reach out and help. We can all find areas where people are in need and create mutual projects for outreach. We are a global community and there is power in the collective.

#Coronacommunity #Strongertogether