Caroline McMenamin is a mental health therapist and part of the ShareJoy launch edit.

Freddie Mercury once said “Being human is a condition that requires a little anaesthesia” in a bid to explain his excessive drug use at one point in his life. I wonder what he would say now about being human in the middle of a pandemic?! He’d probably write an epic ballad with such power that it would inoculate us all from the virus, and there’d be no need for a vaccine waiting list. Perhaps ‘Killer Queen Corona’ would be an apt name, after all, Corona is named for its ‘crown’. LIVE AID 2.0? Anyone?

Whilst this kind of wishful thinking is futile, it actually takes a not-too-different kind of thinking to, not completely anesthetise ourselves from the reality of our world, because that’s not helpful for anyone, but to just about nullify the inhibitory effects of the pandemic and lockdown induced stress.

But first, let’s gain insight into how the onset of a pandemic and lockdown has affected us all. The American Psychiatric Association has recognised that ‘Adjustment disorder’ has become prolific in the face of the pandemic. ‘Lockdown Adjustment Disorder’ is a psychiatric condition developed as a severe reaction to stress.

Put simply, we’re all experiencing severe symptoms of stress as a result of this new unprecedented way of life. We’re not getting a break because we’re constantly being thrown new information and paradoxical guidelines, and we’ve had no resolution since last March. So the pandemic is one big fat stressor that is keeping us all spinning around in the stress cycle.

This constancy of precarious living and simple unknowing traps us in that cycle and thus we begin to feel and see the impact. Our entire body changes in response to a perceived threat (the pandemic). It becomes flooded with neurological and hormonal activity and you basically become a stew filled with stress response ingredients. (Hold the salt please)

“We’re all experiencing severe symptoms of stress as a result of this new unprecedented way of life.”

— Caroline McMenamin, mental health therapist.

Perceived threat creates an automatic release into the bloodstream of stress hormones like adrenaline. They are typically referred to as the “fight or flight” secretions. They are the body’s primitive response that initiates a sequence of stimulated nerve fiber firing which prepares our body for either fighting or escaping.

The physiological response is that our heart rate accelerates, as does our respiratory rate. Blood is directed away from our digestive tract and other vital organs, being shunted toward our muscles and limbs in order to provide them the needed energy to fight or run. When the stress hormones are released, the tendency is to falsely perceive everyone and everything as a possible threat; attack mode kicks in. Rational thought becomes muted and distorted, replaced by exaggerated fear.

The stress cycle perpetuates even more stress behaviour, and we get caught up in a vicious circle. This is where we do anything to numb ourselves because the human condition is more unbearable than usual. So we numb, just like Freddie did.

Stress behaviours are what we do to numb. They can be anything from unhealthy eating, drug use, and alcohol to gambling and gaming. So it’s of vital importance that we learn to recognise unhelpful behaviours that keep us in the stress cycle and identify ways to stop it. As Freddie said “I want to break free’, so how do we...break free …from the stress cycle?

Ways to ‘break free’ from the stress cycle:

Physical activity

Physical activity allows us to finish the emotional cycle when we’re stuck. Allows you to release any gathered energy as a result of the stress.

Breathing

Breathing can downregulate your nervous system. Tuning into breath for 1.5 min. Thoughts will go everywhere. Return attention to the breath. Breathing can siphon off the worst of the feelings. Highly evidence-based. We really underestimate the power of breath.

Positive social interactions

Positive social interaction tells your body it is safe. Safety. People, places, etc. Positive social interaction. Smile.

Laughter

Uncontrollable laughter and releasing you from the stress cycle. Laughter regulates emotions

Affection

A warm hug can really help your body feel like it has escaped the threat. Hugging until relaxed. Makes you feel at home. A 20-second hug can release oxytocin, and lower blood pressure and heart rate.

Crying

Deals with stress and deals with the situation that causes the stress. The emotion takes over and crying allows you to release the emotion. Completing the cycle. Pay attention to the sensation of crying. People are afraid of crying and not stopping, but if they don’t feed the cry with thoughts, then it can stop.

Creative Expression

Anything you make and create is an expression of your energy, positive or negative. The active creation. Take your pain and put it outside of you, in any form of art. It also means activating the imagination. Imagine a beginning, middle and end of an imaginative story.

Remember to validate how you feel. Experience the emotion. Let it run its course. Don’t suppress it or push it down. Don’t numb. (Like being in a swimming pool and holding the float down, it takes up energy and eventually, it pops back up. Let it go by).

Caroline McMenamin is a mental health therapist and the founder of Replenish Tribes which provides mental health workshops, talks, consultancy and private therapy and support groups. You can find her on Instagram @red_dutchess.

Stress Management And Resilience Tips From A Mental Health Therapist