The world wide coronavirus pandemic continues to spread in the United States. We are receiving all sorts of guidance about personal hygiene, social distancing, vulnerable groups, travel restrictions, etc. We are observing occasional panic buying around us. Now, with the vaccines starting to become available, there is significant stress about gaining access to it. All of this continues to reinforce the idea that our ability to withstand with resilience and hardiness the stresses of the current situation as well as adjust our approach to stress will determine our weathering of this health challenge.
As we know, during stressful moments, cortisol levels rise and, together with another hormone called adrenaline, signal the body into making a fight-or-flight response. Specifically, cortisol increases glucose, or sugar, in the bloodstream. That enhances your brain's use of that glucose for energy and suppresses bodily functions that aren't immediately needed during an emergency, such as digestion, reproduction and growth. Once the stressful event passes, cortisol levels should fall. This, however, doesn’t always happen particularly if the stress persists such as our current coronavirus health challenge continues to last. Our bodies may continue to perceive stress or retain high levels of cortisol even past the cessation of the stressor (translate: coronavirus challenge). Consistently higher cortisol levels can cause damage to the heart and other body organs. So, the idea that stress and higher cortisol levels can affect memory and brain functioning is not entirely new. Such levels also can affect our mood and emotional state. We discuss the effects of stress on the brain, body, and emotions in our book (I Can’t Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn’t Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056. For information about the book, authors, and stress, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com.
So can persistent stressors affect brain connectivity? In an article from the Berkeley News by Robert Sanders titled “New evidence that chronic stress predisposes brain to mental illness”, the author discussed how research has shown that excess of myelin – and thus, white matter – in some areas of the brain disrupts the delicate balance and timing of communication within the brain. In particular, there is indication that high levels of stress interfere with the hippocampus which is involved in the regulation of memory and emotion. The author cited findings suggesting a mechanism that may explain some changes in brain connectivity such as in people with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for example. For people under persistent high levels of stress, they may develop a stronger connectivity between the hippocampus and the amygdala – the seat of the brain’s fight or flight response – and lower than normal connectivity between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, which moderates our responses. This means that if your amygdala and hippocampus are better connected, that could mean that your fear responses are much quicker. This can be seen in stress survivors or people subjected to ongoing levels of chronic and persistent stress. If your connections are not so good to the prefrontal cortex, your ability to shut down fearful responses is impaired. So, when you are in a stressful situation, such as the coronavirus pandemic and associated occurrences, the inhibitory pathways from the prefrontal cortex telling you not to get stressed don’t work as well as the amygdala communicating danger to the hippocampus and facilitating an emotional overreaction which the hippocampus retains as a memory. Thus, in some respects, your brain is “stressing you out”.
What causes this anxiety just described? Well, If you’re like most people, uncertainty can cause you tremendous anxiety. In an article in Forbes last year by Bryan Robinson titled “The Psychology of Uncertainty”, the author discussed how the brain, due to its disdain for uncertainty, makes up all sorts of untested stories hundreds of times a day because to the mind, uncertainty equals danger. We humans are hardwired to overestimate threats and underestimate our ability to handle them—all in the name of survival. Robinson explained that when certainty is questioned, your stress response goes awry, instantly arousing your stress response, so that you will take action and return to safety. In fact studies have shown that people are calmer awaiting certain pain than anticipating uncertain pain. Scientists have found that job uncertainty, for example, takes a greater toll on your health than actually losing the job. One thing that is clear about the coronavirus challenge is that it involves high levels of uncertainty about possible adverse health and employment outcomes.
Robinson noted how scientists have long said that “every thought that enters the mind eventually finds a place in the body where it bears the burden. Your mindset during this crisis is everything. Your perspective is the most powerful thing you can control in a situation that is beyond your control”. If we fill our thoughts with panic, there is yet another level of stress which can compromise our immune system. In the article it was noted that molecular scientists have discovered that certain stressful thought patterns, such as rumination and pessimism, can shorten our telomeres—the en-casings at the end of our chromosomes—the stress of which can make us age faster and die sooner. So in addition to washing our hands, we need to cleanse our minds to offset catastrophic thinking. Take some charge of the uncertainty in these times and engage in useful preparation so as to reduce the negative effects on your brain.
What can you do? From a psychological perspective, connect with your friends and loved ones through phone calls, video chats, texts, and emails. It is well known that we are social beings and to deprive ourselves of social connections via social isolation is to risk even more increases in anxiety and disruption of brain functioning. Limit the amount of time each day you tune in to the media for information and updates about the coronavirus, perhaps to the morning and during the evening for brief periods. There’s no need to stay tuned in full time, it will only increase your anxiety. Then there are the basic practical steps you can take to lessen the likelihood of contracting the virus. These include to avoid unnecessary travel and crowds. Wash your hands often with soap and water (or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) for 20 seconds. Keep your hands away from your face, especially your eyes, mouth, and nose. How can you relax despite worries about the coronavirus? Try relaxation and/or breathing strategies such as yoga, meditation, controlled breathing. There are apps on the internet as well as You Tube videos to help guide. Some apps teach simple forms of meditation such as Headspace. Find other ways you like to relax. Read a book you’ve wanted to do, engage in a home project, watch a favorite relaxing television program. Eat your favorite foods. And, as mentioned above, stay in contact with friends and loved ones. You can help them and they can help you. Relaxation helps stimulate the prefrontal cortical areas thus calming our brains.
Take a breath. Be kind to your brain. We will get through this. Good luck on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For information on these and related topics, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com