Coping with Emotional Upheaval During COVD-19

Our world and our individual psyches have been infused with uncertainty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans and routines are increasingly disrupted and collective anxiety – even panic - is palpable in public spaces such as grocery stores.

Feeling some anxiety makes sense right now – it’s a normal reaction to emerging news about the coronavirus. Many of us ponder the uncertainty of the virus’ impact on ourselves and loved ones in the weeks and perhaps even months to come.

Anxiety alerts us to potential threats. It activates us and helps us move toward safety. Our human nervous systems are now more alert and oriented toward survival. If this energy is channeled appropriately, it will help us be prepared. Unwelcome anxiety side effects may include a shorter fuse or feelings of paralysis.

Mindfulness Instructor Stan Merrill made an important distinction between planning and worrying. Planning offers reasonable control and opens up possibility. Worrying closes it down to the same loop of worst cases, playing over and over in our imaginations. Considering this, here are some thoughts on how to mindfully be with the anxiety of the coronavirus:

• Stick with websites that we know are giving us accurate, updated, and fact-checked information. Be mindful of overconsumption of news and social media, and how this may affect your anxiety level
• Focus on what you can control. When washing hands, mindfully breathe in and out five times
• During social distancing, stay in touch with loved ones via phone or video calls.
• If possible, spend time outside and engage in daily movement and exercise.
• Even when routines become disrupted, stick with a daily routine, including wake up times, meal times, and pursuing topics that feed your brain and heart
• Reach out to a mental health professional for support if worry, anxiety, and panic become unmanageable. Many mental health professionals may offer telehealth appointments while social isolation measures are in place.

Stay healthy and well!

Tips to Beat the Winter Blues

You are the sky...Everything else, it's just the weather. ~ Pema Chodron

Winter, with its shorter, colder and darker days, can give rise to occasional feelings of sluggishness, low mood, or Winter Blues. Below are some simple strategies you can use to help these occasional feelings.


Do:

• Try to have regular sleeping patterns. As you feel down, the urge to escape everything by just staying in bed can become stronger. Try to resist this (unless you are genuinely physically tired) as it can make things harder to deal with.
• Try to have a plan of what you need to do day-to-day and week-to-week. Make it realistic and review it regularly. Use it to check your progress. 
• Keep in contact with your friends and loved ones. Cultivate relationships that are close and supportive. If your family is supportive, try to tell them how you feel. Remember you are not alone. Consider the advice and help that others might try to give you as a positive thing in your life.
• Remember to do some of the things that you have enjoyed doing in the past. Reading, movies exercise, playing sport, spending time with friends, getting back to nature, etc. What works for you is what is most important. Sometimes just having a routine to follow can give you a sense of structure in your life.
• Practice ways to distract yourself away from negative patterns of thought. Activity and getting out of the house are good in this respect. 
• Negative thoughts can generate feelings of anxiety. Learning relaxation techniques can help a great deal. A therapist can help you to learn a variety of physical and mental relaxation techniques that will be useful for you in the future.
• Try to explore the way you are feeling. If you can recognize your emotions, talk about them with friends, and/or with a therapist. Write them down, and see how they may relate to your own thinking about yourself or to things that happen in your life. By doing so, you can avoid them controlling you. Then you can begin to get some control back in your life.
• Think of things that have helped in the past, if you've experienced the Blues before. Write these things down and remind yourself to keep using them. Allow yourself the time for them to have an effect.
• Daily exercise and a nutritious diet are important. If your appetite is low, try nutritious smoothies or juices - a liquid diet can be easier to manage if you are prone to gastrointestinal stress.

Don't:

• Don't be passive and allow your mood to take over, if you can help it. Make some plans for each day. 
• Try to avoid falling into the trap of "automatic negative thinking". Identify your negative thoughts, learn to monitor them and learn to challenge them. (i.e., look for evidence to support your negative thoughts or assumptions about yourself). Then you can begin to substitute more positive and therefore more useful patterns of thought. Try writing these things down in a notebook. A therapist can help you to develop this approach so that you can be more realistic about those things in your life that are positive. Click here to learn more about strategies for negative thoughts.
• Don't overindulge on alcohol. It’s a central nervous system depressant and it may make your blues worse.

What distinguishes occasional Winter Blues from Clinical Depression? Check these symptoms of depression or read information about depression. If you check 5 or more of these symptoms for 2 weeks or more, please talk to a mental health or medical professional.

• Frequently feeling sad and/or guilty
• Eating more or less (including significant weight loss)
• Sleeping more or less
• Loss of interest in things you usually enjoy
• Low energy, fatigue
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
• Thoughts about death and suicide

While the above signs are more common, everyone is different. The following may also indicate depression for some people:

• Increased use of alcohol and drugs
• Anger
• Difficulty envisioning a hopeful future
• Helplessness
• Increased aches, pains, or bodily ailments

Seeking appropriate mental health care for depression is important and possibly life-saving. Please contact a licensed mental health professional if you are concerned about depression in yourself or a loved one.

What to Expect in Therapy and Counseling

Psychotherapy and counseling serves many purposes.  It can provide relief from anxiety, stress and depression.  It can help you work through a personal or professional crisis and productively address conflicts in your life.  It can help you navigate numerous life transitions.  It may help uncover reasons behind recurring patterns in relationships or unproductive behaviors.  It can make it possible for you to change those things you are able to change, and can help you bear those things that can't be changed.  

The decision to enter therapy or counseling often arises from challenging circumstances.  So what is it about therapy that works?  Research has shown that the most consistent aspect of therapy that promotes healthy change is a safe and trusting therapeutic relationship.  It's therefore important that you find a therapist with whom you feel comfortable to be yourself.   Powerful insight and change often happens as a result of a positive relationship between therapist and client.  This doesn't mean that your therapist won't challenge you or at times disagree with you; however, in order for this to happen effectively, there has to be a trusting relationship first.  The therapeutic relationship can be a great model for a healthy relationship.  Your therapist should be attentive and you should feel that they have your best interests at heart.   It may be a good idea to "interview" a few potential therapist candidates over the phone before making a decision about who is right for you.


The first step of the process should involve a thorough evaluation of your concerns and life history. Your therapist will collect factual information about you, including the nature of the problem that prompted you to seek help, a history of past and present emotional and psychological concerns, any medical issues and medications you're taking, and your past and present use of drugs and alcohol.  Your therapist should also ask about your family and social history.  This process is very comparable to first seeing a medical clinician, who gathers your medical history to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan.  After the information gathering process is completed, you and your therapist will design a plan for your therapy and establish realistic goals.


The therapy process depends on your therapist's theoretical orientation.  Nowadays, most therapy and counseling consists of a series of interactive conversations.  Most therapists will not present as cooly detached observers, but rather ask questions, make comments, and offer suggestions.  For example, as a therapist, I consider one of my main missions to help each client uncover the best answers and solutions that are uniquely right for them.


As a result of therapy and counseling, you should hopefully understand yourself better, have more positive feelings, and increase healthy behaviors. For more information about my therapy services, please  visit DrGortner.com.