COVID-19. Few, if any, saw it coming. It is a novel, aggressive virus, and, as of this writing, has no known cure.

Many have fallen sick. Thousands have died. And it’s shaken the world as we know it to the core.

The COVID-19 Outbreak is far more than a temporary shortage of toilet paper and cancelled travel plans. It’s not only jeopardizing life, it’s threatening to overwhelm the world’s most advanced health care system and bring the most powerful economy to its knees.

Government officials across the globe are right to shift into survival mode to fight the spread of the deadly virus. Close schools and restaurants, keep only the “essential” businesses open, work from home, if possible, limit social interactions, wash hands “with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind,” and focus resources where people need it most. 

From what we know so far, taking extreme precautions give us the best chance to slow the spread of this potentially deadly virus. Shutting down and social distancing seems to buy those medical heroes on the front lines, treating those who are the
most vulnerable, time to prepare and protect themselves.

COVID-19 Pandemic is a natural disaster.

The Coronavirus affect us much in the same way as experiencing a hurricane or an earthquake. Everything that we thought we could count on  changed in the blink of an eye.

Just as we expect to have reliable electricity and running water, we count on going to work. We rely on collecting a paycheck to pay bills. We expect to stay relatively healthy. We expect to send our kids to school, to watch our sons and daughters compete in sports or perform in school concerts. We trust in a health care system to take care of us and our loved ones if we fall ill, and a financial climate to have some degree of permanence.

These are fair expectations to hold. They are a normal part of living in a world blessed by the advancements of medical science and other various technologies. Sadly, natural disasters tear these and other reasonable expectations away from us—and it’s normal for us to struggle emotionally and experience high levels of stress.

Sometimes we feel stunned and shocked. Such feelings serve as a natural shock absorber to help keep us from being completely overtaken by the initial blow of the disaster. Feelings of helplessness often set in as the shock wears off. We tend to be a little more tense and jumpy or irritable and unable to settle and relax. 

Living in a heightened state of alert and panic is common. Sleep can be hard to find. Experiencing even slight cough can set us on edge. Some of us may even be prone to feeling a case of the “blues.” We might zone out and struggle with feelings of apathy–maybe even hopelessness.

We live in rare times.

Few are not old enough to remember “The Great Depression.” The United States (and many other parts of the world) came to a screeching halt. It took years  to recover from the overwhelming panic. Sadly, many never recovered on a personal level. Why? Because deep below their conscious brain, a part of them struggled to fully take in and sense that the threat was over.

Yes, the disaster came and ended, but the alarm in their lower brain was so overwhelmed, that it implicitly didn’t sense they had survived.

My Grandfather worked for IBM and made plenty of money, but he never realized he’d survived the Great Depression. He knew where every penny went and spent with stingy discretion. From what we know today about how natural disasters traumatize people, it’s likely that his lower brain never registered that the padded bank accounts meant he was stable, and safe, and there would be another meal on the table.

So how can we manage our stress and limit trauma’s long term effects from COVID-19?

A lot of uncertainty remains. No one knows what’s going to happen next or how long the outbreak is going to last. Nor does anyone have a clue as to its cost package. While there is still so much more that needs to be done, here a few ideas within your power worth considering that can help support your mental and emotional well-being through the crisis.

First, even though the threat of the virus still looms large, one of the ways to offset feelings of powerlessness and anxiety associated with trauma is by orienting your attention to anything that is supportive and safe. 

Can you notice even in the smallest of ways that action is being taken to help? What has been the good response to the disaster—where others have mobilized to help? Maybe it’s:

• Testing for the virus is becoming more readily available.
• News reports showing the number of cases  lessening each day.
• You can still go to the store and buy basic necessities.
• Companies are stepping up to provide more hand sanitizer, N-95 masks, and other Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
• Better ways to effectively treat the virus.
• Government financial assistance deposits or checks.

And see if you can sense how your body feels differently as you notice how help is underway?

•         Do you feel a little more settled in your stomach?
•         Can you find your breath just a little more easier?
•         Do you shoulders relax and settle?
•         Does your heart rate slow down just a little bit?
•         Is there a place in your body that feels more loose or warmer?

However it is that you notice safety or calm or even a positive sense of enlivenment in your body, take a minute to stay with it, and let it become “wired in” as part what’s going on. See if you can slowly take in the possibility that you might be feeling a tiny bit more hopeful, even empowered.

We often can’t stop the big traumatic events, but we CAN find and physically notice little moments of sensed safety and helpful action.

Second, let yourself feel whatever emotions you’re feeling.

One key thing about emotions is that we tend to either blow them up or make them smaller. Notice what you feel and take a moment to name it. Just putting a name on an emotion can help slow it down and keep it from welling up into something bigger than it already is. Naming what you feel also helps to keep you from judging or dismissing your emotions.

Whatever you’re feeling—it’s okay.

You may also find calm and relief by focusing your attention on where you sense stress in your body. Take a few moments and set aside the details of your circumstances, and just be with where you sense tension and anxiety physically—perhaps in your chest, stomach, shoulders, jaw, etc.,. Track what happens. Notice if the physical sensation changes in any way. In many cases, stress and sensations will briefly rise in intensity and then settle down or go away altogether. 

Sometimes it’s helpful to find the edges of what feels overwhelming or sad or powerless, and what doesn’t. Sometimes just leaning in and out of the borders of your emotion brings a sense of calm.  

Third, the calamity we currently face is a unique season in time, not a permanent state of life. When the Pandemic ends, notice what tells you it’s over?

It may not seem like it now, but it will end. And we will experience it’s over in little cycles as much as the end of the crisis. At some point, children will go back to school. Businesses will re-open. The financial markets will recover. The medical personal will go back to normal hours and take vacations as they’re able.

Keep an eye out for any evidence, external or internal, that will signal the disaster’s ending? And savor what that will feel like in your physical body?

In the meantime, consider looking for ways to show appreciation to the people in your community working hard to treat the virus and keep daily life moving along for all of us. 

We may be living apart, but we are all in this together. 

If you would like to find out more about how to better manage your stress around COVID-19, feel free to contact us and make an appointment. We  offer online therapy video appointments due to the current need to social distance.