- The pandemic has created an unusually stressful environment for a large number of people.
- The World Health Organization has created an illustrated guide to managing stress, including audio exercises.
- Around the world, healthcare systems are facing unprecedented strain, with concerns that restricting access to mental health support will store up problems for the future.
Whatever stage of lockdown you are currently experiencing, there’s no denying things are more than a little strange right now. Perhaps you are working from home, surrounded by the noise and bustle of family life. Perhaps quarantine is making you feel isolated, and getting in the way of your usual interactions with family and friends. Maybe job, financial and health worries are taking their toll.
Uncertainty and change associated with coronavirus may well lead to feelings of stress, so the World Health Organization (WHO) has some advice on what to do about it.
The WHO has released a new book – Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide – which lays out some strategies for dealing with feelings of anxiety and stress. These include ways to ground yourself, focusing on your surroundings and what you are doing rather than getting caught up in negative thoughts. Of course – it’s far from just COVID-19 concerns that can lead to stress.
The guide offers up advice and exercises, centered around breathing and relaxation, to help you refocus and engage with the world. The exercises can be followed using the pictures and instructions, or are available as an audio guide. Regular practising of these techniques can reduce feelings of stress, the WHO says.
Identifying the problem
The guide also recognizes that coping and grounding techniques do not get to the root of the stress and negative thoughts. As such, it dives into ways to identify the underlying thoughts and feelings.
By living and acting on our values, we are more able to influence the immediate world around us and the situations we encounter. The book uses the example that you may not be able to stop all the fighting if your country is at war, but you can stop arguing with people in your community, and instead act on your values. The way you act may influence others around you. And if you do not take care of yourself it will be hard to care for others and put your values into action.
Mental health services under strain
Evidence from previous quarantines show the potential psychological impact of lockdowns. With many healthcare systems facing unprecedented strain, experts have warned about the risks of putting mental health care on the backburner. It may be harder for some people to access support and their usual ways of coping may not be available. And there are fears that people are staying away from healthcare providers until they reach crisis point, storing up a flood of untreated mental illness cases.
Mental health charity Mind reported in May that nearly a quarter of people in the UK who had tried to access mental health support had failed to get help. Appointments were cancelled, accessing medical professionals was difficult, they were turned away from crisis services, and there were issues assessing digital alternatives.
With different communities facing uneven impacts on their mental health, and unequal access to support, governments are being called on to ensure mental health services don’t regress.
