Why We Are So Stressed During a Crisis … Even when we are not in crisis.
Over the last few weeks, my office has been very busy with clients worried about the coronavirus. Here’s how to stop the internal panic and help yourself separate the reality from overwhelm using a somatic psychology perspective.
Somatic psychology is the study of human behavior with emphasis on how the body relates to our psychological condition (USABP, 2020). Soma means “living body” in Greek and captures the picture that we are not mentally separate from our physical experiences. Everything that happens in our mind, happens in our bodies and vice versa. So when it comes to something like fear, our emotional state is impacting our cellular structure and our physical posturing, movement, and engagement in the environment impacts our thinking patterns. A highlight of psychology is the relational quality of human interactions. Somatic psychology moves one step further and considers how our relational experiences manifest in physical structures. This is important when we engage in pro ( e.g. helping the person next to us) and anti-social (e.g. stealing from others) behaviors as we experience fear in our communities.
We are just biological creatures. The whole point of living (from this standpoint) is to survive. Because many of us are already dealing with high stress states within the body due to inflammation, illness, sedentary lifestyle choices, the SAD diet (standard American diet), high work demands, the 24-hour negative news cycle, and decreased positive social interactions it is easy to see how something like COVID-19 can push our already taxed nervous systems over the edge. To stay calm during crisis it is important to stay focused on caring for ourselves. The ability to self regulate becomes necessary to make sure we discern what is truly dangerous and what is hype.
To keep you from becoming a victim to an overwhelmed nervous system it is important to practice self-regulation skills. Self regulation skills include getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food, maintaining positive relationship experiences, and exercising. These are some of the first things to go when we feel fear and stress. Thus it is a double whammy of internal (fear/stress) and external (news cycles, interactions) impacts to our nervous system.
Self regulation is a measure of how well you can take care of yourself and keep your nervous system in check (Geisler, Kubiak, Siewert, & Weber, 2013). All of our experiences come through our body. It is our antenna to gather sensory information of our current situation. This information moves through the central nervous system, into the brain, where we categorize and label it based on past experiences. Although this information processing is a quick system, it is very complicated.
Our nervous system contains the vagal system. This part of the nervous system is designed to gather information from the environment (Porges, 2011). This includes social interactions, shifts surrounding space and our internal system states, like a worried stomach or feeling pain. The vagal system is focused on recognizing changes and using past learning experiences to determine if we are safe or not safe. We may not consciously register the squinting eyes of the person next to us in the grocery store, the shortness of breath as we take in another headline or the tightening of our stomach when the check-out line becomes crowded, however, those signals can add to our sense of danger, even when the danger level is low or non-existent. It feels like it is higher because we are being bombarded with information from other people’s reactions and as we listen to and retell fear based stories.
As your sense organs take information in they are sending signals to your vagal system (Porges, 2018). It is sensitive to fluctuations in the vibration of the inner ear bones, inflection in voice and facial expressions of others, and shifts in breath rate which directly impact your heart rate. Heart rate fluctuations impact a number known as your heart rate variability or the time between heart beats (Kim, Cheon, Bai, Lee, & Koo, 2018). This number indicates how well your body is responding to both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system states. In other words how well your body is handling stress.
Sympathetic state is the high side. The side of the nervous system that gets you ready to flee or fight. When you get messages that there is not enough like empty grocery store shelves or continued listening to / checking the virus infection rates this system gets activated. It is also increased as you inhale. The more you feel fear, the more likely you are breathing quick and shallow. You focus on the inhale. It sets off a cascade of chemical changes in the body that prepare you to run or fight. As a result you might be more irritated, easy to “snap” at your neighbor/kids/stranger, or willing to fight with, steal from, or hurt others. In a sympathetic state you have higher inflammation rates, may crave more comfort foods (a.k.a high carbohydrate and sugar foods), increased physical pain, decreased positive social engagements, and decreased healthy sleep. These could translate into depressed immune responses.
On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system state is all about “staying and playing” or “rest and digesting”. In this state the body is relaxed. Everything is humming along just as it should. This side of the nervous system is impacted by your exhale. When you exhale longer than the inhale your body registers safety (Thayer, Hansen, Saus-rose, & Johnsen, 2009). When you are feeling relaxed we naturally move toward a longer, deeper breath. This is a self-fulfilling cycle as the deeper you breathe the more relaxed you feel. The less reactive you are and the easier it is to make responses appropriate to the situation you are truly in, not the one tainted by emotional reaction.
When we are already in a heightened worry state, it is easy to get caught reviewing the worst possible outcomes over and over in our heads. This is known as catastrophizing in Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy models (Ellis, 1980). For many it is easy to catastrophize the situation and live in a constant fear state (sympathetic nervous system activation). Catastrophizing is a term used for those thoughts that are worries about the worst possible outcomes. Add the frenzy of people around us clearing out the local store shelves and our nervous system goes on alert for danger, even when the true danger around us is manageable (e.g. if we don’t have enough toilet paper, we probably have other items we could creatively use. The toilet paper represents comfort and safety in a time of uncertainty).
Managing your nervous system allows you to protect yourself and remain socially engaged to help your community navigate crises the best it can. Social engagement does not mean we have to touch or even be in contact with others. Social engagement is about helping each other and recognizing that we are all in this together. Healthy social engagement practice could look like communicating your choice to stay home when you feel ill, because it protects your co-workers. Helping your coworkers stay healthy helps the larger community function the best it can for as long as it can. Practicing good self-regulation skills gives you a tool to make effective decisions for the moment you are in (Linehan, 1993). This way you are ready to manage the stressors that need your attention and bypass the hyped up messages.
With every breath you take you influence how your body is coping with stress. Paying attention to your breathing makes all the difference. When you take a moment and breathe deeply, you shift from the sympathetic state to the parasympathetic state. The heart rate lowers (we are looking for a resting heart rate number below 75 to indicate you are parasympathetic dominant; Schaffer & Ginsberg, 2017) and heart rate variability goes up. The direction of these measures indicate you are ready to handle stress effectively. When you are in a parasympathetic dominate state you are better able to creatively think (e.g. figure out what you can use for toilet paper if you run out), increase self confidence, have healthier sleep patterns, decreased physical pain states, gravitate toward healthy and nutritious food choices, and increased positive social interaction which helps us feel supported and cared for.
When we feel cared for we are more aware that we are not alone, that there is connection to others, the environment, and that I have power (as an individual) to impact people and places. We are more likely to engage in behaviors that help rather than hurt (both us and others). All of these increase our immune response and likelihood that we will get through the crisis with the best possible results.
References:
Ellis, A. (1980). Rational-emotive therapy and cognitive behavior therapy: Similarities and differences. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 4(4), 325–340.
Geisler, F. C. M., Kubiak, T., Siewert, K., & Weber, H. (2013). Cardiac vagal tone is associated with social engagement and social-regulation. Biological Psychology, 93, 279–286. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.02.013
Kim, H-G., Cheon, E-J., Bai, D-S., Young, H. L., & Koo, B-H. (2018). Stress and heart rate variability: A meta-analysis and review of the literature. Psychiatry Investigation, 15(3), 235–245.
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder New York, NY: Guliford Publications, Inc.
Porges, S. W. (2018, Nov. 3) Trauma and intimacy through the lens of the polyvagal theory: Understanding the transformative power of feeling safe. United States Association for Body Psychotherapy Conference Pioneer Award Lecture conducted at the USABP National Conference. Santa Barbara, CA.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, Self-Regulation. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Schaffer, F., Ginsberg, J. P. (2017). An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5(258), 1–17. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258
Thayer, J. F., Hansen, A. L., Saus-rose, E., & Johnsen, B. H. (2009). Heart Rate Variability, Prefrontal Neural Function, and Cognitive Performance: The Neurovisceral Integration Perspective on Self-regulation, Adaptation, and Health. Annuals of Behavioral Medicine (37)2, 141–153. doi:10.1007/s12160–009–9101
USABP. (2020). What is body psychotherapy and somatic psychology? Retrieved from: https://usabp.org
Bio:
Stacy Reuille-Dupont, PhD, LAC, CPT, CNC
Dr. Stacy is a licensed clinical psychologist and addiction counselor as well as a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. Her current integrative clinical practice blends her training as an exercise scientist and psychologist to create individualized programs that include exercise, diet, and positive copings skills to address a variety of mental and physical health concerns. She is a graduate of the Hakomi Comprehensive Training Program, trained in EMDR, skilled in Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy methods among others. Stacy is a former fitness center owner and has worked in a variety of mental health clinical capacities and integrated care settings over the last decade.
Education
She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology/Somatic Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling from the University of Wisconsin — Superior, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University — Corpus Christi. She is a professional member of The American Psychological Association (APA) and the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP). Stacy is an Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) Certified Personal Trainer and National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified nutrition coach.
More at stacyreuille.com, on her blog at stacyrd.com, or join her online for the Integration of Yoga and Psychology. Wisdom Informs, Psychology Explains Upcoming Class & earn 31 Yoga Alliance CEUs.
