DOBA Knowledge

In the last weeks, since a pandemic has been declared, we have been facing extraordinary circumstances that we are not used to. Unpleasant emotions such as fear and anxiety, which we often experience in situations like this, are completely normal and human. From the evolutionary point of view, humans are inclined to negativity bias. This means that we unconsciously select information and put more emphasis on and pay more attention to negative, unpleasant and threatening factors and events so as to protect ourselves and survive. As during these times we automatically focus more on continuously checking and following bad or worrisome news and on thinking about potential unpleasant consequences, it is especially important and useful to actively try to change our perspective and to try to search for the positive sides in the current situation and to consciously focus on activities that trigger positive emotions.

In order to face the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, we must first understand how our emotions and our brain work. Emotions are our brain’s autonomic and automatic response to certain important internal or external events. Certain events trigger the experiencing of pleasure, joy or euphoria, while others trigger fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, etc. All emotions are action oriented, i.e. they direct our organism’s response and our further behaviour. Let us take a look at the difference between fear and anxiety. We usually experience fear with concrete danger (e.g. fear of spiders), while anxiety is more general and dispersed and linked less to concrete events. We experience anxiety when faced with high expectations or when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances and at the same time believe that we do not have sufficient capabilities to effectively tackle these expectations and/or circumstances (as is the case now during the coronavirus epidemic). As we cannot influence the course of the epidemic and as we cannot simply cancel out or overcome the external threatening factor, we need to learn how to accept and effectively face the negative emotions that we are experiencing.

Let us take a look at a concrete example. A negative event, such as information on the worrisome increase in the number of deaths, automatically triggers the experiencing of fear and anxiety. This is completely normal. Further actions depend on us. As we cannot influence the threatening factor and react to it directly, we will probably start thinking about it and analysing it. Our brain automatically joins this phase and activates the processes of analysing, studying, anticipating, predicting, and catastrophising, which consequently reinforces the initial emotion of fear or anxiety. This means that if we started with a slight level of fear or anxiety when the negative event occurred, this emotion has grown significantly stronger over time due to these thought processes. The greater intensity of the perceived negative emotion leads to further thought processes and the feedback loop is closed. This means that continuous negative and obsessive thinking reinforces negative emotions. This is something we do not want to happen and for this reason, we have collected a few concrete measures on how to avoid this negative feedback loop, which will in turn improve our well-being.

1. Focus on engaging in pleasant and useful activities

One of the best ways of breaking the negative flow of thoughts, which is usually automatically triggered when experiencing fear or anxiety, is to actively focus on activities that relax us or that trigger pleasant emotions or to do something useful or something that we had wanted to do for a long time but simply lacked the time to do it. Redirecting attention to engaging in pleasant and/or useful activities will consequently lead to the unpleasant emotion of fear or anxiety to simply fade away. Have you always wanted to learn an instrument or read a specific book, write a blog, or learn a new language?  The current quarantine and self-isolation are an excellent moment to start! There are numerous pleasant and useful activities that we can do from the comfort of our homes – chatting and meeting virtually with friends, cooking and baking, arranging our photos, playing social games, taking a relaxing bath, tidying and redecorating our flats, arranging computer documents, etc.).  

2. Focus on the things that you can control

We said before that we cannot control the course of the pandemic and its consequences, which can trigger feelings of despair and helplessness. This is especially evident in people who have a very strong internal locus of control, which is reflected in their strong need to be able to control the course of events. Individuals with a strong internal locus of control believe that events in their lives derive primarily from their own actions. Regardless of what we do, there is currently no absolute guarantee that we will not get sick and this can be very frustrating. A useful piece of advice for dealing with circumstances beyond our control is to focus on activities that we can control. We can make sure to consistently follow all prescribed preventive measures (consistent washing and disinfection of hands, observing social distancing, wearing masks in closed spaces, etc.). These are actions that we can control. The awareness that we did everything that was in our power to prevent infection or the transfer of infection to other people is reassuring. 

3. Practice gratitude

Accumulated stressors and long-term exposure to stressors exhaust our immune system. Now more than ever, it is important to keep our body strong and healthy. An easy way to effectively face stress and unpleasant emotions is practicing gratitude. Let us be grateful for our blessings here and now. There are so many things, situations, and people that we can be grateful for and to. Start keeping a gratitude journal. Every morning, think about at least one thing that we are good at and that we are proud of or thankful for. By practicing gratitude, we are embraced by positive thoughts, we experience pleasant emotions, and consequently strengthen our immune system.

4. Practice mindfulness and meditation

When we focus on our mind, we pay deliberate attention to what is truly going on around us and within us. All we need to do is actively observe and accept our responses, emotions, and thoughts without judgement. We can observe when negative and catastrophic thoughts appear. When they do, we just let them move on without dwelling on them. We can observe which thoughts prevail: positive (e.g. “Isn’t it a gift that I can work from home?”) or negative (e.g. “Oh, no, the stock market indices have plummeted again!”). Similar applies to the emotions that we are experiencing. Learning to be present here and now is of key importance for our mental health. By practising to return back to the present moment, we are reinforcing our ability of managing and overcoming all types of crises, be it global or personal. When we practice meditation and mindfulness, it helps to stay focused on our breathing. This eliminates distractors and helps us stay focused on the present moment. Focused deep breathing has positive effects all in itself. Focused deep breathing (inhaling through the nose counting to three and exhaling through the mouth counting to six) has been reported to eliminate the stress hormone cortisol from your blood in just one minute. There are many guided meditation techniques and techniques of practicing mindfulness available online. We advise you to try them out.

5. Strengthening resilience or inner strength

Resilience is our inner capacity to help us face and cope with life’s challenges and defeats. This capacity is developed differently in different people but the fact remains that we can all train and strengthen it. Resilience is the ability to observe your own thoughts, minimise unconstructive thoughts, and effectively harmonise thoughts and actions. Resilient people quickly bounce back from failure, defeats or difficult events in their lives, including illness. The process of developing resilience starts with simple actions or thoughts such as planning of work or learning to accept change. Even if you have well-developed resilience, this does not necessarily mean that you will not feel angry, sad or worried during difficult times. You are, however, less likely to give up and more likely to tackle stressful situations in a healthy way.

5 ways to build up your resilience:

• Nurture relationships: Friends and loved ones are great allies when life becomes difficult. Even at times when social distancing is advised, you can always ensure you stay connected to the people that matter the most, either by phone, email or on social media. These strong and positive relationships can help you release oxytocin, which helps calm your mind and reduce stress.
• Find meaning in your day: Make yourself do something meaningful each day. Focus on setting goals and accomplishing them. Such an approach reinforces your sense of purpose in life.
• Ensure you recharge frequently so you can better and more efficiently handle stress in difficult times. We recommend exercising at home (30 well-spent minutes), taking breaks from watching the computer or television, reading and listening to (bad, negative) news, taking deep breaths, meditating, stretching, getting plenty of sleep, and eating regular healthy meals. Tending to your own needs will give you the energy, physical strength, good health, and vitality you will need to improve your well-being during difficult external circumstances.
• Remain optimistic: This is about keeping a fine balance between a positive outlook and a realistic view of the situation. Experts indicate that people are better at handling tough times when they are able to recognise the difficult circumstances while identifying the positives in such situations and making the best out of them. This is called realistic optimism. It helps you identify things you can control so you can take advantage of them. This builds your resilience and lets you take steps forward despite dire circumstances.
• Be proactive: This is not about ignoring problems and circumstances around you. Quite the contrary. Do not get dejected. Think about what needs to be done and, above all, what you can do, make a plan and take action.

Remaining calm at a time when we are all on high alert and faced with uncertainty due to COVID-19, can be challenging. Exercising, volunteering and being attentive, meditating, establishing positive connections with other people (even if only virtually), training optimism and practising gratitude as well as other activities and measures that we presented in this article can significantly improve your mood and contribute to your well-being. In these dire times, we need this positive counter balance. We have the strength and inner resources to reduce negativity and strengthen the positive emotional infection so as to overcome these unusual circumstances. All we need to do is activate them. Good luck!