The Pandemic Brain

I am aware that this might be a late post but I believe there are still people out there who might resonate with this piece as the pandemic stays around. March 11, 2020, the date when WHO (World Health Organisation) announced coronavirus disease as a pandemic after inflicting 114 countries. It’s made a huge impact on the way we’ve started living our lives, turning lives upside down and pushing us towards a new regime and newfangled rules that we didn't expect in our daily lives. Nevertheless, the manner we have started adopting and adapting to is what is required for a safer present and undoubtedly the future.

What is exactly happening?

So, whenever the human body perceives an attack threatening the survival and equilibrium of the body it has a way of aiding itself by activating the sympathetic nervous system releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine, the hormones that trigger our fight and/or flight response depending on the stimulus the individual is presented with, reducing the level of stress-causing hormone-cortisol in our bodily system and getting us our balance back.

When we speak of the pandemic, there is an issue the body and brain face which is the prolonged exposure to threat and even the uncertainty it carries with it. Biologically, the continuous nature of such a threat causes the hippocampus to slowly shrink being unable to detect what is safe anymore which in turn makes us feel demotivated, fatigued, and lazy, so when people tell you to just take control of your life and dust it off, make sure to tell yourself that every individual is mentally and physically unlike the other and the assessment by each is also different.

How bad does this look for our health?

Professionals all over the world are talking about how the pandemic as this one has become detrimental to our well-being overall.

This extreme change in the environment with no clear end is making all of us anxious about almost everything we do. Some of the distinct effects it has had is on the ravaging rates of unemployment making the deprived suffer, even more, intensifying their need to fight for survival. The other devastating crisis countries around the world faced was the lack of medical health amenities and crammed up medical institutions unable to tend to the increasingly large number of patients.

While these are a few visually clear consequences of the pandemic, deteriorating mental health has slowly crept in soaring numbers. Brain fog and cognitive fatigue are what this feeling and experience have been called. The vagueness and isolation from our daily regime are creating fogginess making us unable to focus on the most usual activities of the day.

Social isolation has been highly detrimental as the lack of human contact is making us anxious and has been recorded to intensify emotional decline dragging into the future too. With ambiguity filled in the air we resort to various other ways to feel and experience something of the earlier comfort and in that process, we end up overstimulating leading to dispersed attention on numerous activities. Due to indulging in this for a countless number of times, the mind and body sense lack of variety making us vulnerable to cognitive dysfunction and reduced focus on even the nominal acts of the day leading to nervousness, anxiety, amplified mental health problems, uprooting of relationships, and a feeling of lack of purpose to name a few. People already with mental health disorders can see an exacerbation in their symptoms leading to worsening effects on their state of mind and a sense of trauma that extends even further.

What can we do to heal from this and get better?

Experts have countless times expressed how our body and brain need to be taken care of in any situation and this is a period of utmost need for that.

Our food plays an important role in this. Higher intake of protein and fruits, especially blueberries that are anti-inflammatory are brain pillars. Oranges, lemon, and other vitamin C boosting food items help in reducing the danger of chronic diseases enhancing our immunity, and yes, not forgetting that glass of water!

Managing mental health difficulties:

• During this time many of us have started procrastinating due to feelings of higher levels of demotivation and lethargy; the incomplete work, and continuous denial of getting errands done earlier, subconsciously make us worry about what is yet to be completed. This condenses our focus on other activities and increases our anxiousness even more. Trying to schedule by writing down or setting reminders on our smartphones can help us get that slight push to get the stuff done when our reminder pops up.

• Optimize our health. We need to take care of ourselves and I know you’ve heard about this before too but I would again emphasize this here- Exercise. Exertion of our body physically helps and aids our cognitive functioning and enhances our mental energy, releasing endorphins that are hormones that trigger happy and positive emotions in the body which is undoubtedly currently. So, try, just the bare minimum is fine too!

• Mental health is required more than ever today, so I would just like you to consider taking professional help if you must. Psychotherapy can help in exploring the sequela of grief, social isolation, job loss, anxiety, procrastination, and many other issues that may impede people’s lives. Meditation even for 15 minutes a day, guided or through a playlist you enjoy paired with breathing exercises benefits in calming the body and understanding the environmental stimuli, which might be needed in the chaotic nature of the world we're presently living in.

• Getting plants home or planting them yourself has the power to relieve stress. Horticulture therapy and gardening therapy have been recorded by therapists in managing symptoms of depression and anxiety, it aids in bringing out a sense of belonging and purpose furthermore enhancing the focus on here if it's short-lived.

• Decluttering is also one of the popular activities to relieve stress and bring out calm and joy in the freedom of space you spend your everyday life in. Marie Condo has become one of the idols for getting people to declutter their spaces, helping to understand how soothing the feeling of clear space is.

Present times do look tough and grim to pass but hope is what we cling to and carry ourselves forward one step at a time.

Resources

https://youtu.be/X8KYkPDvAr4- Marie Kondo helped me organize my desk, Nifty

https://youtu.be/4YQpvlNC59g- Top 20 Marie Kondo Tips for Tidying up and Decluttering

https://youtu.be/kyPAxdmicYQ- The 10 things that happen after you declutter, Life Beyond the Clutter

https://youtu.be/gK9mM5VFJvM- Your brain on plants: why gardens are good for you

https://youtu.be/rU8APAwp6io- What to do when you feel like doing nothing, Lavendaire

Cover photo- <a href="https://storyset.com/coronavirus">Coronavirus illustrations by Storyset</a>