We are living in unprecedented times. We are living in constant uncertainty….. Right now things are tough.
Thankfully, we are not going through these times alone...in fact the whole world is facing this crisis together.
Anxiety is a normal human response to stress. We need anxiety to help us perform at our best. But, in times like this, our everyday anxiety can suddenly feel overwhelming. If you have been feeling more anxious than normal, or have noticed that the people around you have been more anxious than normal, again, you are not alone.
In Australia in recent months we have been living with disaster. We had the worst bushfire season on record, followed by flooding and then before we could catch our breath...enter stage right…. the Coronavirus. It is important for us to remember that our amygdala (say that fast 3 times), the emotion centre of our brain is wired to respond to trauma and lately it has been very busy! We have all been living in a heightened state of stress for months and this means our amygdala is actually hardwired right now to focus on negativity. It is almost like our brain has blinkers on and cannot see beyond the gloom and doom. Our amygdala is fine tuned to search our environment for triggers and respond accordingly. Now, when we were cavemen this was really useful! It kept us alive and allowed us to evolve. The issue is, our amygdala, especially when it has been working so hard lately, still responds to situations as though they are all life and death (cue people fighting in Woolies for toilet paper).
This Youtube clip helps explain our bodies FFF response (Fight Flight Freeze) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHwB1PG_-Q
But don’t worry! Just like any muscle, our brain can be trained. We can shift our amygdala’s attention to more positive triggers by practising mindfulness, gratitude and
empathy. Yes, life right now is surreal, frightening and worrying, but it will get better.
Together, we can get through this.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has put together some excellent tips for managing our anxiety during these difficult times. You can access the article using the link below:
https://www.psychology.org.au/getmedia/38073179-4701-48bd-afd9-988c560ee2f9/20APS-IS-COVID-19-P1.pdf
Another excellent article from the APS discusses how to maintain positive mental health during social isolations. You can access this article using the link below:
BCAP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) also offer some tips in the article below:
We encourage you to take a breath, try to focus on the positives….no matter how small. Try to find some quiet in all the noise and take time to care for yourself and those around you.
We are here for you, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Until next time…. please take care,
Liz and Liza
School Counsellors