Social and Emotional health during times of uncertainty

Let’s talk about social and emotional health. To start out I t want to pose a few questions for you to think about as you read through this post. What are you doing to take care of your social and emotional health? Do you think of your emotional health as part of your overall health? Would you consider your emotional and social health as being an important part of your immune health?

At the start of the pandemic I would describe my emotional health as over all stable, but not being a super social person, there was comfort for me in hunkering down with my family and “sheltering in place,” because my “place” was where I personally retreat for security and safety to begin with. I didn’t have much sense of loss or grief over things being missed, diner parties not eaten, beers not drunk. Don’t get me wrong I was super upset about the canceled trips to the hot springs and WV, where I was born and raised and rarely get to go, but when put into the perspective of safety for all it became a manageable disappointment.

Then emotionally the tables turned for me when the media barrage became not an only a rapid fire of statistics, death tolls, contradictions, and misinformation but also the idea of having to come out of hiding but with crazy rules and uncertainty. And it was all the time! The news never stops. I found myself for the first time suffering from panic attacks. They started subtly. “I’m having trouble catching my breath…..do I have COVID. I haven’t been anywhere not even for groceries it can’t be COVID. My heart is racing, my brain won’t stop thinking about all the what ifs. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have family members who have panic attacks so I was able to recognize what was happening and take the right steps to work through it in the moment. After that I took the time to figure out what was the trigger and how I could eliminate or at least ease the stressors that were causing them. I realized that for me it was the media. So I stopped. I stopped reading the news, I stopped listening to he radio as much, and I stopped looking at social media. I limit my media intake to what I need to stay informed enough to keep my family, my clients and myself as healthy as I can and no more then that. I also started getting back to my own acupuncturist on a more regular schedule. I haven’t had a panic attack since.

So let’s circle back around to the question above. What are you doing to keep your emotional health on point? Is there something that you can eliminate or reduce that just seems to amplify negative or unconstructive emotions or thoughts? Have you thought about seeking out a professional councilor to talk about the crazy times we live?

Remember that your thoughts, emotions are valid and important and that your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Your mental health can impact your immune health and it is so important. So take care of you! Love Serena