5 signs that your coronavirus anxiety has become serious and threatens your mental health and what to do about it

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5 keys to take care of your mental health during the pandemic 2:56

(CNN) - Forced confinement. Isolation from friends and loved ones. Loss of employment, income and economic stability.

Grief and losses on many levels, from missing milestones like birthdays and graduations to serious illness and death.

Difficult times were made worse by fear of an invisible and deadly enemy who attacks by the air we breathe.

That is the anxiety-filled reality that many people around the world live in in the coronavirus era. While some of us may be dealing well right now, experts fear that our emotional resilience begins to weaken as the threat of covid-19 increases.

• A mental health crisis helpline registers an 891% increase in calls

"We constantly live with a level of fear, a heightened state of excitement, just like Vietnam veterans and Iraq war veterans live every day," said trauma counselor Jane Webber, a professor of counselor education at Kean University in New Jersey.

"And our sympathetic nervous system can only stay in that overwhelmed, almost frantic state for so long before we crash," said Webber, who counseled survivors and families during the tragic consequences of September 11.

"I call it 'chronic threat response': the continued state of being in a hyperexcited survival mode," said trauma psychologist Shauna Springer, who has spent a decade working with military veterans suffering from known post-traumatic stress disorder. like PTSD.

"The response to chronic threat is an escalation of many of the same symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress: sleep problems, floods of anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and a trigger startle response," said Springer.

What are some of the signs that our coping skills that are becoming harsh and our anxieties may become dark and more dangerous?

Lack of sleep

"When nightmares become normal and our sleep quality is consistently poor, that is often the first sign that we may need to take steps to improve our mental health," said Springer, author of a new book called "Warrior: How support those who protect us. "

Poor sleep is a double-edged sword: Anxiety not only creates poor sleep, but a lack of quality sleep can lead to anxiety, stress and depression, a kind of circular impact. The good news is that exercising and practicing good sleep hygiene can often help us get back on track.

Focus on the bad news

As we remain confined, focusing on seeing alarming media reports of the virus's growth and devastation in the economy is another warning, according to Springer.

"If we are spending our days submerged in this general anxiety and fear of what may happen, in a kind of trench waiting for bad news, that is another sign that things are entering a more clinical range," he said.

"And there is a feeling of guilt for showing our feelings to our loved ones, which is likely to happen when you are around people for a long time and you haven't adapted to that."

Loss of interest and pleasure

An even more serious sign, Springer said, is when we lose our taste for connecting with others and stop communicating with friends and family.

"When we can't find pleasure in anything and we start feeling anesthetized instead of connecting with others and doing things that we value or want to do with our lives, that's a sign that we may need help and support," he said.

Paralyzing impotence or anxiety

If the current covid-19 threat has sparked feelings of helplessness, such as domestic violence, or loss of identity and purpose after being fired or suspended from a job, that may also be a key sign of risk, the researchers said. experts.

"An overwhelming feeling of helplessness is what often leads to symptoms of trauma," said Springer. “Those of us who have been laid off from a job may feel that we have lost our identity, due to the absence of the roles and relationships that give meaning to our lives, and therefore feel powerless. We may be at risk. "

Impotence can turn into dark, crippling anxiety, which is another sign that we need help. "Paralyzing anxiety is where you feel constantly inundated with feelings of panic and this nameless fear of what may unfold," Springer said.

“You don't have the feeling of a hopeful future. Anxiety creates a tunnel vision and really puts us in a fight or flight state.

"And when we are in that survival mode for an extended period of time, it is when anxiety enters a darker phase and really justifies clinical support," he said.

• Five ways to improve your mental health in 2020

Thoughts of suicide

Being so desperate and anxious that we begin to think about ending our lives is, of course, a sign that immediate professional help is needed, experts said.

"Military veterans say that is when the 'whisperings of our demons' begin to take over," Springer said. "When we start writing a story in our heads about how others won't miss us or that we are a burden to those we love, that's a critical sign that we need to get help right away."

Where to look for help when if you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts? Look here for information to seek help in the United States, Latin America and Spain.

• Depression and suicide: where to look for help in countries of Latin America and Spain?

What to do to help yourself

Find someone and connect, just not physically . The first thing you should do is stay socially connected with friends and loved ones even if you are physically separated. Technology is a great way for many of us to do it, but some in the family, like grandparents, may not be as adept at using Facebook, Facetime, and Zoom, for example.

"Instead of relying solely on social media, we can list the top 10 or 20 people we care about most and put them on our phone on a rotating basis," Springer said. "We are going to call one of those people every day."

Then Springer suggested adding more people from our outer circle of friends and associates that we might not be that close to and putting those people on that daily call rotation. That's especially critical if you think those people may be especially isolated right now.

"Reaching out and connecting with people, especially those who are especially isolated, and giving them room to talk about their experience and anxiety during this unprecedented moment and then sharing our own experience is how we will get through it," he said. "When we connect, we survive."

Breath deeply. In therapy sessions, Webber said, “What we teach the most is deep breathing. It's free, it doesn't cost anything and it really works. ”

This is how it is done correctly, she says: breathe through your nose, hold it and then exhale very slowly through your mouth as if you were breathing through a straw.

"And when you breathe out slowly, you improve your whole picture of life and reduce your nervousness," Webber said.

Practice gratitude. Science has shown that people who practice gratitude are happier and more optimistic, and you can easily learn how to do it.

“One thing I recommend to everyone in times of fear is to write two or three things each day that you are thankful for. Change your worldview, "said Webber.

“I am grateful for my daughter because she is now home with me. I am grateful for my son, the nurse. I am grateful for my other son who has discovered all possible ways to get food online that is throughout the county, ”he added with a smile.

Take control of your mental state. To prevent the fight against anxiety from getting darker, experts suggest, take control of your thoughts.

"One of the ways to do it is to take out a sheet of paper, put a line in the middle and, on the one hand, write the things that we cannot control at the moment and, on the other hand, write what we can control", Springer said. "And then we form an action plan that allows us to move forward on those things that we can control."

This prevents us from "diving into that feeling of helplessness or just sitting in a trench and waiting for more bad news to come," he said. "We're actually making progress on things that we want to be making our lives with, even if there are some very difficult circumstances right now."

"For some people, that may not be possible, especially if they lost their jobs or were suspended when the economy stopped completely."

"Losing a job is 'seismic stress', one of the most stressful things that can happen to you," Springer said. "But you can sit back and reflect on your negative situation or you can use the time to learn something new or go deeper or acquire some skills."

She points out the many high-quality, inexpensive, or free online training programs that can add skills to your profession or even help you make the transition to something new.

"So people can use this time to develop skills and become smarter and stronger and more prepared for when the workforce really gets going and in full force," Springer said.

Establish a schedule. Our days and nights are mixed, and many people find themselves working longer hours, or if they can't work, they are worried about finances. One way to fight back is to set a schedule that separates family work or job search and playtime, especially exercise, which is critical to increasing our mental state of mind. Meditation or mindfulness are also great options to program in our day, experts said.

"We have to create routines to get through this absolutely surreal world right now," said Webber. "Focus on the little things, like making lunch in a special way, knitting, sewing, meditation, paying attention, practicing yoga, or walking or running to do something physical to help us achieve a calmer state of mind."

Be careful with the media, especially social media . Experts ask to limit the amount of time you spend watching news, especially if you feel you are getting anxious. That can also apply to social media, said Arthur Evans, executive president of the American Psychological Association, in a recent interview for the Washington Journal section of CSPAN.

"There's a lot of misinformation on social media," said Evans. "When that is combined with a lot of conflicting information, it creates more anxiety for people."

For example, he said, social media is full of conspiracy theories and other incorrect information that "contradicts what we are hearing from professionals who really know and understand these problems ... so limiting the information to reliable sources, sources where you can trusting helps a lot to control that stress. ”

He smiles. It has long been said that "laughter is the best medicine," and that applies to the anxiety of our time, experts said.

Remember, you can't be anxious and smile at the same time. That's a physiological thing, "said Webber.

So watch funny movies, listen to comedy routines, ask everyone on the phone to tell you a joke. Return them by doing the same.

Stay optimistic. There are so many unknowns when it comes to this new disease that it is terrorizing the world. Will it calm down during the warmer summer months? Improve or worsen as the world begins to open up? Worse yet, will he return with a vengeance in the fall and winter?

Don't let those unknowns shake you or take away your optimism, Webber said.

"I think optimism is healthy and an Achilles heel, because of course being too optimistic could disappoint you," he said. “But if I had a choice, optimism is always better than pessimism. And optimism is always better than realism. If we are hopeful that the best will come, we may be disappointed, but that hope, I always believe, will come to the person you love. ”

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