MENTAL HEALTH AND COPING DURING PANDEMIC Flashcards
(28 cards)
WHAT IS STRESS?
is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, irritability or nervous. Stress is your body’s reaction to a challenge or demand. In short bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF STRESS?
motivate you (good stress) to get the promotion at work. But if you don’t get a handle on your stress and it becomes long-term, it can seriously interfere (bad stress) with your job, family life, and health
Examples of life stresses are:
- The death of a loves one
- Divorce
- Loss of a job
- Increase in financial obligations
- Getting married
- Moving to a new home
- Chronic illness or injury
- Emotional problems (depression, anxiety, anger, grief, guilt, low self-esteem)-
- Taking care of an elderly or sick family member
- Traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, theft, rape, or violence against you or a loved one
Effects of worrying about things:
( Sometimes the stress comes from inside, rather than outside) - Fear and uncertainty - Attitudes and perceptions - Unrealistic expectation Change
Short-term physical effects of Stress:
- Headache - Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue - Upset stomach
- Difficulty sleeping - Irritability
What is the importance of knowing stress response(s)?
Knowing your stress response can help you determine the best coping strategies that align with your needs.
Response:I feel the need tomobilize. I have a desire to take action or take control.
Coping Strategy: Focus on balance—set goals and take breaks. Take time to unwind
Response:I want torun away. My thoughts are racing and I feel keyed up.
Coping Strategy: Soothe worried feelings by decreasing sensory information—set boundaries with media consumption and identify negative thinking patterns.
Response:I feelimmobilized. I don’t feel like doing anything and can’t motivate myself.
Coping Strategy: Support your mood by increasing sensory information—plan on connecting with a friend and create a flexible daily schedule.
I feeldisconnected. I compartmentalize negative feelings and avoid addressing them.
Coping Strategy: Make time to reflect and connect with intolerable feelings in small doses. Journal or talk with friends. Move on to something lighter when you begin to feel overwhelmed.
I feelokay. I have ups and downs as I adjust but am able to stay within a comfortable enough emotional range. I’m consistently taking steps towards my goals
Coping Strategy: Engage in self-reflection to identify the coping tools you’re using; this will help you harness them reliably when needed.
How do you define worry?
refers to the thoughts, images, emotions, and actions of a negative nature in a repetitive, uncontrollable manner that results from a proactive cognitive risk analysis made to avoid or solve anticipated potential threats and their potential consequences.
How do you define Anxiety?
defined as apprehension over an anticipated problem. Anxiety is adaptive in helping us notice and plan for future threats—that is, to increase our preparedness, to help people avoid potentially dangerous situations, and to think through potential problems before they happen.
What is taijin kyofusho ?
involves fear of displeasing or embarrassing others; people with this syndrome typically fear such things as making direct eye contact, blushing, having body odor, or having a bodily deformity.
What is Kayak-angst?
a disorder that is similar to panic disorder, occurs among the Inuit people of western Greenland; seal hunters who are alone at sea may experience intense fear, disorientation, and concerns about drowning.
Immediate versus the anticipated aspect of anxiety?
Psychologists focus on the “immediate” aspect of fear versus the “anticipated” aspect of anxiety—fear tends to be about a threat that’s happening now, whereas anxiety tends to be about a future threat. Thus, a person facing a bear experiences fear, whereas a college student concerned about the possibility of unemployment after graduation experiences anxiety.
How do you define fear?
is the word we use to describe our emotional reaction to something that seems dangerous or defined as a reaction to immediate danger. But the word “fear” is used in another way, too: to name something a person often feels afraid of. People fear things or situations that make them feel unsafe or unsure. … People tend to avoid the situations or things they fear.
What is DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEAR AND WORRY?
While the latter emotions are voluntary, genuine fear is involuntary. … On the other hand, worry is a choice.
Mental Health during the Pandemic
Added to the fear of contracting the virus in a pandemic such as COVID-19 are the significant changes to our daily lives as our movements are restricted in support of efforts to contain and slow down the spread of the virus. Faced with new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children, and lack of physical contact with other family members, friends and colleagues, it is important that we look after our mental, as well as our physical, health.
Why are pandemic stressful?
- Fear and anxiety about a new disease and what could happen can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children.
- social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety.
(However, these actions are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19. ) - Coping with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.
Stress during an infectious disease outbreak can sometimes cause the following:
- Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones, your financial situation or job, or loss of support services you rely on.
- Changes in sleep or eating patterns.
- Difficulty sleeping or concentrating.
- Worsening of chronic health problems.
- Worsening of mental health conditions.
- Increased use of tobacco, and/or alcohol and other substances.
EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS
How you respond to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic can depend on your background, your social support from family or friends, your financial situation, your health and emotional background, the community you live in, and many other factors. The changes that can happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways we try to contain the spread of the virus can affect anyone.
People who may respond more strongly to the stress of a crisis include:
People who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 (for example, older people, and people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions).
Children and teens.
People caring for family members or loved ones.
Frontline workers such as health care providers and first responders,
People who may respond more strongly to the stress of a crisis include:
Essential workers who work in the food industry.
People who have existing mental health conditions.
People who use substances or have a substance use disorder.
People who have lost their jobs, had their work hours reduced, or had other major changes to their employment.
People who have disabilities or developmental delay.
