Your Brain's Response to COVID19, Social Distancing, and Economic Crisis
It's unbelievable that our world today looks remarkably different than just a week ago! There are moments that I feel like Alice In Wonderland, falling through the rabbit hole into a different land. Then, there are moments that I want to look over my shoulder to see if film crews from the MTV show Punk'd are following me. The great pandemic of 2020 is certainly upon us, and that brings a LOT of uncertainty and change. So, let's talk about your brain's response to COVID19, social distancing, and economic crisis.
It's unbelievable that our world today looks remarkably different than just a week ago! There are moments that I feel like Alice In Wonderland, falling through the rabbit hole into a different land. Then, there are moments that I want to look over my shoulder to see if film crews from the MTV show Punk'd are following me. The great pandemic of 2020 is certainly upon us, and that brings a LOT of uncertainty and change. So, let's talk about your brain's response to COVID19, social distancing, and economic crisis.
Are We Being Punk'd Right Now??
When we break it down, our brain's primary job is for our safety, security, and certainty. Our brains are highly skilled after millenia of scanning the environment for threat to our safety and well-being, and the safety and well-being of our loved ones. When the threat is assessed, our brain triggers the stress response -- fight, flight, freeze. Over-function, under-function.
This served a hugely important role during prehistoric days when are ancestors were being chased by wild animals, and it kept the human race alive. Survival measures were taken and the threat response turned off. The problem is, our brains and bodies were never designed for the nervous system response to stay in the "on" positions for long periods of time, as we're experiencing today. If fact, when we're in the "on" state for too long, it compromises the way that our nervous system functions and can make us more likely to get sick, which is the last thing with need with a highly contagious virus making its way through our communities.
The Tips to Calm Your Brain's Response Through COVID19, Social Distancing, and Economic Crisis:
Breathe. I don't mean this in the obnoxious, "you just need to breathe and everything will be ok" way that we sometimes get from friends and family. I mean that when our stress response is triggered, we naturally start taking shallow breaths, which further revs up the nervous system in panic response and takes our brain further away from the logistical-thinking prefrontal cortex and further into the reptilian fight/flight/freeze/panic amygdala part of the brain. Breathing from your diaphragm, or "belly breathing", helps to bring your nervous system back into balance. Give 10 deep belly breaths a try now. Go ahead. I'll wait for you. :)
Bilateral Stimulation. This is a fancy phrase for moving your body left-right, which activates the left-right parts of the brain which, remarkably, is also calming to the nervous system (who woulda thunk it??!!). Bilateral stimulation is one of the reasons that we tend to pace when we're feeling anxious, so it can be going for a walk, run, dancing, drumming, whatever feels good for your particular body (ps, moving the body has the added benefit of releasing pent-up anxious energy. That's a great 2for1!). Another quite unique method of bilateral stimulation is binural beats. These are musical tones played at certain frequencies that you listen to with headphones and that alternate between your left and right ear. You can find tons of examples on YouTube, so give it a try!
Is it helpful? This is one of my favorite tips to put into practice for myself (actually, I use and love all three, but am especially using this one now!). The most ironic thing about our brain and its stress response is that, believe it or not, our brains have no interest in what is factual. In fact, the brain when in the fight/flight/freeze/panic response can be quite a little liar (remember, your brain is basically assessing everything to be a threat at this point!). So, when thoughts come up for me as I'm in a stressed state, I try to make it a point to pause and "fact check" what the thought is saying to me. Am I really going to end up homeless under a bridge??? What steps would actually have to happen for me to end up there?? Is it completely necessary for my survival to have 100 rolls of toilet paper? Is watching the news cycle 24/7 actually helping??
Your Brain's Response to COVID19 -
From Hyper-vigilance to Vigilance
As you put these tips into place and are able to calm your nervous system, your brain can shift from hyper-vigilance (overly-focused on fight/flight/freeze/panic) to vigilance (alert, aware, and able to take appropriate action). We can often have the mistaken idea that hyper-vigilance is better at keeping us safe in a threat, but the narrowing of the focus makes us less able to assess the full environment and be able to think about problems creatively to problem-solve and be able to take more effective action and conserve some energy.
Now Scheduling Virtual Sessions
You've read our tips about your brain's response to COVID19, social distancing, and economic crisis and you're realizing that you want additional support for your mental and emotional well-being during this unique and difficult time. Harper Therapy is now scheduling tele-health sessions so that you can get the support you need maintain necessary social distancing. Call our office at 813-434-3639 to schedule a free consultation to see how we can help.
