4 Key Strategies for Managing Anxiety and Stress Amid Covid-19
Have you been feeling more anxious than usual since the COVID-19 pandemic started?
The heightened anxiety may be partly due to wearing a mask when we’re out and about. In order to best protect ourselves, our loved ones and potentially vulnerable people around us we absolutely must continue to wear masks as well as practice the CDC’s other recommendations for handwashing and physical distancing. But since masks obscure our faces, they can interfere with our ability to read important facial cues that our brain needs to assess safety. The polyvagal theory can help explain why.
Polyvagal Theory Explained
From the moment we are born, our autonomic nervous system (ANS) constantly scans our surroundings for signs of danger. This unconscious scanning process is called neuroception. “Neuroception is the eyes and ears of our nervous system, feelers inside, outside and between me and the Other to determine safety.” We neurocept safety or danger based on body language and facial cues that our brains detect without us even realizing it!
Based on the “listening” of our nervous system, our system energetically moves up or down what is called the “polyvagal ladder.” At the top of the ladder, when our system neurocepts safety, we are in a ventral vagal state and our energy is calm. We are present and open to connecting with others. In other words, our social engagement system is “on” and we are open to connecting with another person’s social engagement system. However, if our system neurocepts danger, we energetically drop down the ladder into a sympathetic state and feel the energy of mobilization (fight/flight). And if the danger is unrelenting or neurocepted as “too much” by our system, then we energetically drop to the bottom of the ladder into a dorsal vagal state (the energy of immobilization) and begin to shut down.
Normally, when we are out and about, we’re able to physically see AND neurocept the nonverbal indicators of other people’s energetic status. Thus, we can get a sense of whether someone is “safe” and open to connecting: “That person’s jaw is relaxed, their lips curved upward [in a smile] and their brow is soft.” So, via neuroception our ANS tells us that person’s social engagement system is “on” and we feel more relaxed around them. Now remember…this occurs outside of our conscious awareness! So, what happens when masks obscure the facial features we need to neurocept safety, to energetically be in connection mode? Then our ANS essentially says: “I can’t neurocept safety so be on the look-out!”, which generates the beginnings of fight/flight energy, not necessarily full on, but to our ANS, it is mobilization energy nonetheless. And THAT may be why we feel more anxious and stressed when we’re outside of our home!
However, the answer is not to stop wearing a mask because when it’s combined with other mitigation measures, such as handwashing and physical distancing, we know it dramatically decreases the transmission of COVID-19. The answer is to learn some effective strategies that can help you navigate this and other situations that can trigger mobilizing, fight/flight energy states inside of us.
1. Ground and Center Yourself
Before you exit your car, take a moment and notice your feet on the floor and your body being supported by the car’s seat. Allow your body to rest and feel it becoming just a bit heavier as you sink a little bit more into the chair.
If you’re standing in line, notice your feet on the floor. Shift your weight ever so slightly so you’re on the balls of your feet. Then the heels of your feet. Then the outside of your feet. Play with it, just noticing. See if you can stand taller by strengthening and lengthening your spine.
2. Steady Your Breathing
Then bring your attention to your breath. As you breathe in, notice how your chest and shoulders also rise as your lungs inflate. And, as you exhale, your chest and shoulders go downward as your lungs deflate. This kind of mindful awareness is soothing to your nervous system.
See if you can use your exhale to feel the effects of gravity on your body by noticing and “going with” the downward movement of your exhale. Allow yourself to “go with gravity” by letting go of muscle tension, wherever it may be in your body, literally feeling yourself get heavier with each exhale.
3. Refocus Your Senses
After grounding yourself and noticing your breath, bring yourself fully into the present moment by using your 5 senses. Look around you and take in the various colors you see. Notice their nuances. What smells do you notice? Breathe them in deeply, welcoming them into your sense of smell. What sounds are around you right now? Foreground noises, like people talking behind you, and background, ambient sounds, like the rustle of bags at the cash register. Take a sip from your water bottle and really notice what it feels like in your mouth as you swallow. Can you feel it going down your esophagus and into your stomach? Touch something soft on your clothing and just take it in through your senses.
4. Make Eye Contact
Smile behind your mask. See if you can make your eyes smile too. And then make eye contact. Notice what happens inside you as you do. Consider manifesting the energy of connection by making small talk with someone whose eyes feel safe to your system. Sometimes, simply making eye contact with someone can help both your systems feel soothed, just a bit.
The fact is that almost all of us are struggling with similar feelings or anxieties when we’re around others these days, even if we don’t consciously recognize it. Doing these 4 simple things can profoundly affect our energy and help our nervous system climb back to the top of the polyvagal ladder where a ventral vagal state, the energy of connection, awaits us.
Has the COVID-19 pandemic worsened your anxiety? Or have you developed anxiety for the first time because of the pandemic? If so, therapy can help. We invite you to reach out to us to learn about the benefits of anxiety therapy.