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Breaking the COVID Anxiety Cycle

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Apr 15, 2021
  • 3 min read


It goes without saying that COVID-19 put us in a precarious situation unlike anything we had ever experienced. It has turned out to be a life and death battle with an invisible virus. I don’t believe that it is an understatement that life as we knew it has changed – possibly forever. How we reacted to all of the mandates being thrust upon us may have determined how well we survived this crisis.


Anxiety still reigns supreme. We were under stay-a- home orders; travel watch orders; told to wear masks and gloves; wash our hands twenty times per day and practice social distancing. All of these precautions were necessary to bring this pandemic under some control. There are still people who think that this was a hoax and an infringement on their rights. This group's thinking and actions possibly threatened all of us.


A number of years ago I worked at a uranium processing plant. I ran the lab in the medical department and saw every employee who worked there come through for annual physicals. This plant cleaned ‘green salt’ which was used in the first steps of processing the uranium. It was radioactive. Now the green salt appeared to be very benign – you couldn’t see that it was radioactive. Every employee who worked around the radioactive materials had special gear and certain procedures they needed to follow in order to stay safe. But it was not uncommon for these workers to take off their respirators and not use their special equipment when the supervisor wasn’t around. They couldn’t see the danger. After the plant closed down all employees received annual physicals to make sure they didn’t have cancer, or any other medical condition brought on by working around radioactive material. The outcomes for being foolish were very real – but there were always some people who just didn’t believe it because they couldn’t see it.


For those of us who are completely a mess about COVID-19, the anxiety is starting to take a toll. Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist, states that anxiety and its close cousin panic, are both born from fear. He is a behavioral neuroscientist and explains that fear is the oldest survival process we have. Over the last million years or so, we evolved a new layer in our brain on top of our primitive survival brain. This is the prefrontal cortex and it helps us think and plan for the future. It predicts what the future has in store for us based on our past experiences. If we don’t have all the necessary information, our prefrontal cortex starts laying out different scenarios of what could happen and guesses which scenario will be most likely.


Here comes anxiety. Anxiety comes up when our prefrontal cortexes don’t have enough information to accurately predict the future. And this is what we have with the coronavirus right now. Without accurate information our brain begins to spin stories based on fear. If this wasn’t enough, anxiety is also contagious. This is known as social contagion. Our own anxiety can be triggered just by talking to someone else who is anxious.


When we can’t control our anxiety, our emotion escalates into panic. When this happens, the rational parts of our brain go offline. To hack our brains and break the anxiety cycle, we need to become aware of two things: that we are getting anxious or panicking and what the result is. This helps us see if our behavior is helping us survive or moving us in the opposite direction. Panic can lead to impulsive behaviors that can be dangerous and, anxiety is mentally and physically weakening; a slow burn that has more long-term health consequences.


This is when we can become aware of how unrewarding anxiety is and we can deliberately bring in a ‘bigger, better offer’. Our brains will choose more rewarding behaviors because they feel better. With practice we can replacing old habitual behaviors – such as worry – with those that are naturally more rewarding. (Judson A. Brewer, March 13, 2020)


Step back from the coronavirus situation to ask a few questions. What can we do to get our prefrontal cortex back online to do what it does best – think? When we look at our situation, we can leverage certainty. For example, if we’ve just washed our hands, and haven’t been out in public, the likelihood that we will get sick is very low. The more we see the benefits of good hygiene and compare those with the negative feeling of uncertainty, the more our brain moves toward the positive actions because it feels better.


Continue to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings and protect yourself from exposure. When we get vaccinated, we remove the uncertainty, and our anxiety levels go way down. And always remember – this too shall pass.


Reference:

Brewer, J. (March 13, 2020). NY Times: A brain hack to break the coronavirus anxiety cycle. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/well/minds/a-brain-hack-to-break-the-coronavirus-anxiety-cycle.html


 
 
 

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March was an unusual month for me.  Normally I work on articles, give presentations and generally just stay tuned to what is going on in the field of aging.  This month I “learned” a lot.  Last year I learned how to write a book.  At the time I took the course I thought it would just be a natural extension of all the writing I had done over the years.  WRONG!!  The actual writing of the book was the easy part.  Putting it together into a book was difficult for me.  The course gave me step by step lessons on constructing a book.  Then editing and formatting were just as challenging.  On June 7 last year the book was published!  It was one of the most satisfying days of my writing career. 

Naturally, when you self-publish, you do not have a publisher promoting the book and getting it in the right categories for best sales on Amazon.  That was crushing because I really didn’t know to appropriately market it.  I am a brain health person!  In December of last year, I purchased a marketing program that is based on statistics.  I am technical minded and so this approach made sense to me.  The course is almost completed.  Can’t wait to see if it improves sales!

The next step I am looking at is recording an audiobook.  This is another venture I knew nothing about.  But I am already tagged on Facebook for marketing of audio book programs.  Facebook picks up everything.  Now my husband was creative director for an advertising agency and when I told him I purchased another class – he couldn’t believe it.  “This was my business.  I know how to do recordings, why didn’t you ask me?” Well, I knew he was an expert in that business, but this audiobook needs to meet all the criteria that Amazon requires for publication.  So, he can take care of the recording part of this audiobook, and I will navigate the process of meeting Amazon’s requirements.  We worked on the book together like this. 

Then I talked with some coaching experts on the viability of starting group teaching programs.  Reading The Boomer Brain book and implementing the Brain Healthy Lifestyle have two entirely different outcomes.  This lifestyle is important to maintaining high cognitive function throughout the later years of our lives.  Look for updates as to when I will roll this program out.

My last learning endeavor was attending a two-day bootcamp for Speakers.  I am really excited about what I learned there.  That is a late this year or next year project, but it is one I am really looking forward to.

 

What Is Happening in April?

The American Society on Aging is having their annual conference in Orlando Florida April 21-24.  This is the largest multidisciplinary conference on aging and the annual conference for Members of ASA.  I have attended a number of these conferences throughout the years, and it is consequential.  Keynote speakers and special events are focused on combating ageism in our society.  Although this is a professional meeting, the attendees come from all aspects of aging services.  They have their work cut out for them this year!

April is Stress Awareness Month.  We should be aware of stress every month and understand how we can break the stress cycle.  These are stressful times, and we need to protect ourselves

Here is a positive one “April is National Volunteer Month”.  When I am working with new retirees who don’t know what to do, I talk to them about volunteering. It is important to have a purpose after you leave the workforce.  There are so many nonprofits who need help in all aspects of their organizations.  It is a perfect way to give back.

Finally – It was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds – the oldest major league team in the nation.  Cincinnati takes that responsibility seriously.  There is always an Opening Day Parade through downtown to the Ball Park.  Huge crowds line the streets and every year there is talk of making it an official holiday.  Schools and employers look the other way when there is an empty desk.  No matter what the outcome of the game is, there is so much joy, and you can feel that energy.  I am fortunate that I get to experience that.  We all need some joy right now. 

Enjoy your April.

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