This article was published in the online edition of the Duluth News Tribune on April 2, 2020.
Expert Alert: Self Care — The coronavirus pandemic has caused many of us to experience persistent and high levels of stress. It is important to understand what this can do to us and to know what steps we can take to reduce harmful effects as we watch the scenario unfold.
Prolonged stress works on the brain in a cycle. Stopping the cycle is key to surviving a crisis.
Here’s how it works.
The brain’s amygdala, the part of the brain where we experience emotions, responds to threatening stimuli in the environment. When it becomes activated it causes the release of the stress hormone cortisol and prepares the body for fight-or-flight responses. That’s a helpful reaction.
However, when stress becomes chronic, a continuous elevation in cortisol results in depressed immunity and depression. The elevation in cortisol feeds back to, and excites, the amygdala, which in turn causes more cortisol to be released.
Periodic exposure to bad news about the coronavirus elevates cortisol in the feedback cycle and contributes to a blunted immune response, immune deficiency, and a depressive state characterized by rumination and withdrawal.
Break the Spiral
One can see how the brain’s chemistry can catch people in a spiral. But the vicious cycle can be broken. Techniques include “thought stopping” and “reframing.”
Depressed people ruminate. One behavioral technique for rumination is “thought stopping.” When unhealthy thoughts occur, the individual is instructed to say “stop” out loud and to focus on something else, something more positive. They make a list of alternative topics as substitutes. As this becomes a habit, the individual says “stop” just to themselves and focuses on a more pleasant topic.
Anxious people catastrophize, focusing on the worst possible outcome. Good advice for people who catastrophize is to “reframe” the worst outcome to better outcomes. They concentrate on positive activities. Here’s an example of reframing, “If I take these measures, my risk of coronavirus goes down; when the emergency is over, I plan on doing positive things.”
There are techniques for physical health, too. Trauma has been proven in cases such as PTSD to compromise health. There’s another cycle that needs to be stopped. Depression raises the risk of a fatal heart attack, and a heart attack significantly elevates the risk of developing major depression.
Avoiding Depression
I return to the scientific studies again. Hospital patients who can look out a window onto trees heal sooner and request less pain medication. Exercise is a proven antidepressant and, thereby, good for the immune system, as depression has been linked to compromised immunity. How about a private walk in the woods?
Deep breathing from the diaphragm reduces sympathetic (fight-or-flight) arousal. Another exercise, “Jacobsonian progressive relaxation,” has been used since the 1930s to augment therapy for anxiety. Starting with the toes and working up the body, tighten and hold a muscle group and then relax that group. As you do, attend to the feeling of the relaxing muscles.
Tai Chi, yoga, and other mindfulness exercises teach attention to and thereby the regulation of the physiological and mental state of arousal. Since physiological tension can slowly build without conscious awareness, one should periodically assess one’s state of bodily tension and take steps to reduce it as necessary.
I have found that social isolation in primates (and we’re primates) results in behavioral depression and a reduction in immune cells.. That’s a place for social media. Phone and Skype may be better than email to connect with others, because one can see and hear others in real time.
You can Restore Your Health
We are all faced with stress right now. There are many, many steps we can take to stop the brain’s cortisol feedback cycle. In this time of social and emotional disruption, we need to self-monitor our mental and physical health. Taking restorative actions and engaging in safe social engagement are the best strategies for us all right now.
About the UMD Department of Psychology