This is not a medical post, but rather a post from a holistic nutritionist/bodyworker who like you, has been living through a pandemic that has been life changing for most of us.
Since March of 2020 we in the US have been through lost lives, long-haul covid, lockdowns, school closings, work-from-home adjustments, back-to-office adjustments, job losses, supply shortages, health experts flip flops, family conflict over vaccines, socializing or isolating, travel bans, depression, loneliness, addiction upticks, delayed surgeries, doctor and nurse shortages, social upheaval and economic slowdown, just to name a few.
What we’ve given little attention to is our mental health, which is deeply affected by the way our brain processes events and information. Over the pandemic we trained our brains, whether consciously or unconsciously, to be highly alert for danger. The pandemic’s danger was poorly defined because it came from a new viral strain, of which little was known. Therefore it became a guessing game as to how one could contract it. Could it be sitting on a countertop, invisible to our eyes but potentially lethal to our lungs? Could it be on our groceries, ordered online and packed by unknown potential carriers of the virus? How about our mail? After all, the postal worker touched hundreds of pieces of mail coming from parts unknown. Or was it in the air, making it dangerous to walk in the sunlight that was badly needed for our mood and our daily supply of Vitamin D, an essential nutrient for protecting us from illness?
I hope in my effort to make you aware of all you have dealt with since March of 2020 I have not exacerbated your anxiety, but rather have shown you that if you are feeling anxious, it is only a normal reaction to an enormous amount of coping and adjusting you’ve been called on to do over these two years.
What Happened to Our Brains?
We trained our brains to be vigilant through the pandemic, scanning for danger on every corner. As with all things, some are more sensitive and reactive than others, This can lead to the formation of new neural networks that place one in a state of hyper vigilance. Now, as things ease back to normal, new neural pathways need to be formed to disengage the hyper vigilant ones so we can respond in a calmer more appropriate way to ordinary, everyday stressors.
Re-Program Your Brain
We are not robots, so we do not have a switch to flip us back to ordinary levels of vigilance after enduring an extended period of high level vigilance. Here is where resilience comes in. Resilience is defined as an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.. You might think of this phase as one where resilience plays a major role in your future. In looking for a re-programming of the brain, we need to be resilient and patient. We need to learn some new behaviors. Here are 5 things you can do:
Notice what makes you most uneasy or anxious and ask yourself: how do I know this to be true? If it is true, how to I respond in a reasonable way to it.
Immerse yourself in things you enjoy to stimulate the pleasure hormones in your body.
Talk your concerns through only with people you know to be reasonable.
Limit your access to news channels and trust your intuition as to their accuracy.
Practice self-care - sleep, movement, nutrients and social connections.
Enjoy Life to the Fullest
The doors of life are slowly opening up. After a prolonged period of sacrifice, it can feel richer and more divine than one remembers. Putting time and effort into releasing yourself from the worry and anxiety that defined the pandemic can be a time for experiencing a happier more fulfilling life going forward. And it is one you richly deserve.
resources: Covid-19 Cuisine