Overworking Our Mind in Anomalous Times: Covid-19 Induced Stress

When I think about this year I have ambivalent feelings. It’s perplexing to even think about how dramatically this year unfolded, sometimes it feels like I've been thrown off balance. Uncertainty looms over all of us and it can get to you sometimes. Almost every night I think about when will I be at university again? When will things go back to normal? When will I see my friends? What if I forget how to socialize? What if my friends have changed because we’re still growing up? What if my likes and preferences change so much that my friends find it hard to be around me? I mean, personally, I never imagined being obsessed with Game of Thrones, Marvel, Sherlock, Peaky Blinders, and Harry Potter, especially when my choice of shows were Gossip Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Dynasty, etc. (not that I don’t binge-watch these shows anymore, but you know what I mean). My mind is over-analyzing every little situation because of the precarious nature of this pandemic. Are these puzzling emotions normal? Are you all feeling things like this?

At the same time, this lockdown feels like a double-edged sword. While my mind cannot stop wandering to places I don’t want it to explore (yet), I cannot help but look at the other side of the coin too. Simple things like if this hadn’t happened would I ever realize the importance of living life to the fullest? Would I ever get this much invaluable family time again? Would I ever get to spend this much time in my childhood bedroom again? Would I ever get to play cards with family every day without fail? Who knows when next I’ll be home celebrating small moments in life with my family. This pandemic has shown me some important things which I cannot seem to overlook. I have to be grateful at every step of the way because I have a family, a roof, food, and all the comfort I could hope for. It is thus important to acknowledge the struggles faced by low and middle-income groups who are struggling to make ends meet. The daily remorseful news about individuals dying, many in hospitals, people migrating on foot to their hometowns, people losing jobs, etc. is deeply saddening. It really puts my regrets and worries of not drinking my Tim Hortons Iced Coffee at the airport while leaving Vancouver or living those indispensable moments with my friends back there into perspective and it has shown me how minute they are in the bigger picture. So why am I constantly thinking about the uncertain future and not living in the moment when I absolutely can?

Thinking about something in endless cycles is arduous. Letting an invisible jury in your head determine the outcome of your day-to-day actions is not a smart move. Clinical psychologist Helen Odessky, the author of “Stop Anxiety from Stopping You”, says, “So often people confuse overthinking with problem-solving. But what ends up happening is we just sort of go in a loop, we’re not really solving a problem.” Everyone has a critical inner voice in themselves that hones in on the negative aspects of a situation, but the extent to which that helps really depends on us. For those of you who have seen the popular NBC show, “This Is Us”, may have seen Randall and Beth play the “worst-case scenario game”. They come up with the worst-case assumption of every situation and when that extreme possibility doesn’t happen, they feel better about the present outcome. Again, you may try this game only if you’re certain that you can control the extent of your overthinking nature. Sometimes when you say your fears out loud, they may end up sounding completely irrational, and you may rise above.

What I normally do is tell myself that the past doesn’t matter anymore and the future is not in my control, the only thing that is in my control is the present so I’m going to stop worrying and focus on today. Recently I read a study published in 2008 in the psychological science journal that the brain becomes both calmer and sharper after a person spends time in a quiet setting close to nature. Thus, whenever you feel overwhelmed with your own thoughts and you feel stuck in a metaphoric black box, you can try doing these 3 things:

1. A walk in nature (nearby park or anywhere with green spaces).

2. Exercise: it is scientifically proven to be an instant mood booster and stress-reducer. Once you sweat out your thoughts, you can think transparently.

3. Get off digital devices for a few hours and do things without the internet like draw, paint, color, cook, read a book, pen down your thoughts, take a long bath, play board games with your family/friends, etc.

Remember: “Stress spelled backward is desserts.” -Loretta Laroche; so go try a new recipe today and forget about your troubles for a while.

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