Emotional Health and its Effect on Your Physical Health in a Time of Coronavirus
As the coronavirus continues to spread and more cases are reported, physical precautions are obvious and a given (i.e. wash hands thoroughly, don’t touch face, stay home if unwell). However, as we see more schools shutting down out of an “abundance of caution”, “social distancing” becoming recommended, and more people working from home out of fear of the unknown, anxiety and stress levels are having a major impact on our mental and emotional health. In addition to our physical precautions, we must pay attention to our mental and emotional health as an important part of keeping our immune systems strong and resilient.
The Harsh Truth: We Are the Cause of Our Own Stress
There is plenty of research demonstrating how emotional health is linked to our physical health, yet we tend to ignore this in practice mainly because the work is harder and less tangible; particularly in a time like now when circumstances appear urgent and critical, we have greater fear due to lack of information, and we want immediate results. This fear is what’s causing face mask and hand sanitizer hoarding, and the conscious and unconscious blame and discrimination we place against others who we think are not taking the same level of precaution as us, or who we say “got” us or our communities sick. In our minds, as long as we are doing something and can place responsibility on others, we feel better. However this doesn’t last. If we don’t direct our energy and efforts towards the right causes, we merely become exhausted and perpetuate a sense of scarcity, isolation, and disconnection, increasing our stress levels and weakening our bodies. Additionally when we are stressed or anxious, we have a harder time sleeping and eating healthy, which leads back to more stress and anxiety, causing a vicious cycle.
The Good News: We Have Control Over Our Stress, Fear, and Anxiety
When we start to take greater responsibility and care about how we are mentally and emotionally handling a crisis, we can better manage the stress levels that affect our physical well-being in a manner that far outweighs the benefit of purchasing all the hand sanitizer in the world. Maybe we wish coronavirus were not in our area. Maybe we wish other people would stay home or act differently. However we simply cannot control every single person and circumstance outside of us and to reduce stress we must focus on what we can control, which is how we handle situations and how we treat ourselves and others.
Compassion and Kindness: The Stress Antidote
Simply start by noticing and acknowledging your stress and anxiety levels and how this might be affecting your behavior. This awareness can help you to assess what a reasonable amount of action and caution is to stay safe without going overboard. Then start to acknowledge the stress and anxiety levels of others and how it might be affecting their behavior. Try to see it from a place of compassion instead of judgment. Then as frequently as you might wash your hands, practice kindness towards those around you, which in turn sparks joy within yourself and provides a greater sense of well-being. Look for healthy ways to connect with people in a time where our fear tends to lead us to confinement and isolation.
Remember Everything Is Temporary
This too shall pass and when it does it will still be a good time to continue exercising our mental and emotional muscles. Then when a time of crisis returns (which it will), we will be even more equipped and prepared. While these times may be challenging, we can use them as opportunities to become stronger and in greater control of our inner workings which in turn improve our outer workings and health as a whole.
Interested in bringing wellness programming into your workplace? Visit vohanwellness.com for more information.