As we stumble into unchartered territory that bears the imagery of being stranded on a deserted island, surrounded by the turbulent and ironic seas of information overload and savage uncertainty, we can become easily overwhelmed by the sounds, updates, changes, public addresses, mandates, and eery silence, which for most can lead to uncomfortable and unpredictable emotional distress.

If you are finding that your thoughts are becoming more difficult to track, you’re easily distracted or having difficulty concentrating, that you’re jumping to conclusions or worst-case-scenarios, perhaps you’ve become short in your responses to loved ones, that your sleep has been restless, that you’ve had major changes in appetite, or maybe you’re feeling emotionally numb with the inundation of information being thrown from each corner of our planet - it could mean that your nervous system is responding in overdrive, and the hormones and natural chemicals responsible for maintaining stability in your mind and body are trying to prepare you for what is to come. The thing is, we don’t need to have those hormones constantly stimulated. The beauty of human adaptation is that when we face significant distress, our bodies use the reserves it has on hand. So, if we are constantly tapping the reserves though frequent information binges (news, social media, etc), we are squandering our body’s valuable natural resource to tolerate distress.

The solution of social distancing and diligent hand hygiene have been proven to be some of the strongest individual and global contributions to decrease the severity of the community spread for COVID-19.

As much as we are doing to keep our physical health safe, we have an obligation to our emotional health to do the same.

We can help promote the production and maintain the abundance of our distress tolerance through what we can call psychological distancing among our vigilant work of social distancing. Here are a few suggestions to try:

Limit the frequency and duration of times you check the updates (maybe 1-3 x/d). Set a timer on your phone, and when you’re finished, remind yourself that you’ll be able to check the updates at the next scheduled time.
Ask a friend or family member to keep you updated if there is important information that you’ll need to know between those times.
Turn off notifications on your phone from news feeds.
Many states have an email or text option for updates that come without any social media or headline related interpretations and can be less triggering. For those within the state of Oregon, here’s the LINK to sign up for email or text updates. Oregonians can also call 211 for updates and COVID-19 related questions.
Families can schedule times to talk through their questions or concerns if the topic feels like It seeps into too many conversations and the home is needing reprieve. Perhaps keep a notebook that people can write down their thoughts or questions to bring to the family during your scheduled family talk.
Scheduling often has been a valuable solution to managing distress. Those who use therapy have a designated time and space for experiencing safety in the opportunity to unravel the bombardments of the brain.
Most therapists are providing online/virtual therapy. If you are feeling these emotions are becoming too difficult to tolerate and would like to talk with a professional, you can access therapy from the comfort of your own home or car (as long as you have internet connection for most virtual therapy). Contact me for a referral or go to PsychologyToday.com and search for a provider in your state.
Social and psychological distancing does not mean alone. We are in this together.