Managing Stress During Epidemics - Ioseb Burduladze
At any given time, especially in epidemics, stress disorder, the main symptoms of which is excessive emotion, panic and fear, can only contribute to the development of the disease and to its expansion - Ioseb Burduladze, a neurologist at Todua Medical Center, offers recommendations.
Stress is a companion of our lives and can be said to be "useful" as it helps to mobilize human resources and adapt to a changing world. But if the stress is strong and lasts a long time, the person is unable to adapt, leading to physiological and mental shifts.
In the 1930s, physiologist Hans Selye described that the human body responds to all kinds of internal and external irritants with the same primary reaction - a kind of tension.
Stress manifests itself in various ways: impaired memory, decreased attention and concentration, and weakened judgment. At this time, people see everything in a negative way, are constantly worried, irritated by all the petty, strives to stay alone, or have a sense of loneliness ("the whole world is against me"), experiencing physical pain, restlessness, insomnia or vice versa - heightened appetite, excessive drowsiness, increases or abrupt decreases of sweat, diarrhea, nervous behavior and more.
Of the many factors that cause stress, there are unexpected factors that people are not prepared to act on. COVID-19 is exacty this kind of factor, which is widespread in today's reality.
Add to this the daily stress of information - the impact of negative information on the psyche, that is, more than one can perceive and process.
If a person concentrates on negative information, there is a high risk that it will have a negative impact on the psyche.
At this time, the human body produces adrenaline and cortisol, which increases blood glucose levels, develops tachycardia, arterial hypertension, headaches, and so on. Symptoms of autonomic (vegetative) nervous system and frequent panic attacks with restlessness, dizziness, feeling of ballooning, feeling of fear and insecurity.
If the stressors are prolonged, the so-called "depletion" phase develops. In this case, free radicals damage healthy cells of the body and increase the risk of developing various, including acute viral diseases.
As we can see, there is a "vicious circle" between stress disorder and acute illness. On the one hand, diseases cause stress disorder, and on the other hand, a disadvantaged organism is easily the target of various diseases. Not to mention that in times of fear and panic, one cannot follow preventive or curative measures, and on the contrary, he often makes mistakes during this period.
We recommend that you maintain spiritual and physical peace of mind in any particular situation today. Due to our emotional state of disorganization and negligence, do not harm ourselves and those around you.
Remember: Nervousness will bring us nothing good!