Are you feeling tired yet restless? Having difficulty paying attention but, at the same time, hyper-focused? Maybe you're finding yourself distracted from work but consumed by social media--endlessly scrolling through your various news feeds. Or, perhaps you're having trouble sitting still. You may find yourself beginning a task only to interrupt yourself a few minutes later--realizing you have to take out the trash, do the dishes, or pay the cable bill.
If this sounds like you, you may be struggling with a trauma response known as hyper-vigilance: a state of alertness and sensitivity to your surroundings.
For many of us, quarantine, coupled with recent political events, has left us with feelings of fear, uncertainty, and anger. People usually assume that for something to be traumatic, it needs to be an event that was "objectively" horrific. But, the thing is that there all types of different types of traumas--because trauma is an event that is relative to the individual. Meaning, it's a composite experience of the event, your perception of the event, and how your body responds. Something traumatic for one person may not be traumatic for another. For many of us, COVID-19 and it's subsequent safety precautions have been stressful and prolonged. Limiting our reliance on our typical coping strategies (hanging out with friends, going for walks, etc.) and depleting the coping methods we've been using (anyone else tired of ZOOM hangouts?).
Many in the field of mental health are recognizing that the pandemic is a global trauma.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself: it doesn't matter if we're in a "global trauma" I still have work to do and a life to live--what's the value in naming it a trauma?
Dr. Spiegel is most known for his integration of Eastern practices with western neuroscience, and he answers that wonderfully-- You've got to name it to tame it!
Now, that's not to say you're going to "tame the pandemic." But you may be able to understand your emotional and physical reactions to the pandemic by acknowledging it as a type of trauma.
Hear me out, for centuries, Eastern civilizations have practiced meditation a mind-body practice that promotes mindfulness (for more on this check out my previous post on Mindfulness, Psychotherapy & Your Brain). There are many different ways to meditate formally, but usually, most people start by learning how to slow down their thoughts and focus on their breath. When their mind begins to wander, as the mind often does, they are instructed to focus back on their breath. Over time, people become more aware, more quickly, when their mind begins to wander, and it becomes easier to focus on their breath, which subsequently helps relax their body.
For many of us, it is harder to focus on our breath when we're having a hard time emotionally. One of the ways we can re-focus our attention is by acknowledging we're having a hard time. That is, notice our mind is wandering and without judgment, label what we're experiencing.
As an example, while meditating, I often get distracted by thoughts about what I need to get done before the end of the day. For me, these thoughts are usually due to feeling anxious. When I notice that I'm getting caught up in thoughts about the future, I will often label my experience by thinking to myself, "I'm having a lot of thoughts about what needs to get done." Or, I'll notice, "I'm feeling anxious about all that needs to get done." Then, I will re-focus my attention on my breath. It takes a few rounds of noticing my thoughts and feelings, settling back on my breath before I begin to feel something different.
When we recognize that the pandemic is a type of trauma affecting all of us, it allows us to better understand our emotional and physical reactions. There's a lot of hype right now in using quarantine as a time for self-improvement. But many of us are just trying to get by and get through. When we recognize that our difficulties may be due to abnormal circumstances, like a global trauma, it can be easier to be kinder to ourselves (and others!).
Next time, we'll talk about the importance of self-compassion during a pandemic.