C-19: Managing Hypervigilance
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Hypervigilance means that the nervous system stays on and alert, looking for danger. For people who have navigated an abusive family of origin or faced combat in a war, hypervigilance was a necessary strategy for survival. They needed to know what a change in a parent’s tone might mean or to keep their eyes alert and scanning for danger.
We are better able to handle short periods of hypervigilance because it is expected that most dangers will pass. However, during a pandemic, we are all facing higher periods of time of hypervigilance for a virus that we cannot see. Here are some examples of hypervigilance that are specific to the COVID-19 pandemic:
Navigating a walk around the block to avoid other people
Seeing people in masks and reminding yourself that they are trying to keep themselves and others safe
Walking through a grocery store and trying to make decisions about food for the next 2 weeks while maintaining as much physical distance as possible
Coming back into your home after an essential outing and trying to touch as few things as possible until you can wash your hands
Seeing headlines and images of people infected by COVID-19 and reading articles to try and have enough information
Feeling “on” for multiple Zoom meetings as you work from home (Note: You sensory systems are working harder on virtual platforms because you are trying to make sense of less information because you cannot get as many clues from the other people as you can in person. Also, we are not used to being the constant objects of social attention; being on virtual meetings reminds us that others can constantly, plus we can see ourselves on the platform.)
If you are an essential worker, you are thinking about every step, procedure, and interaction you take in your work process.
Checking to see if stimulus payments or unemployment payments have been deposited in your bank accounts.
All of this thinking, increased awareness, and carefulness in action can increase anxiety and this leads to feeling exhausted.
A few tips on managing the hypervigilance of the pandemic:
Have compassion for yourself and honor that you are doing more, even if it doesn’t seem that way on paper.
Take time to rest your eyes and other senses. This can come during meditation, taking a few moments to have a soft gaze and look out the window, or a short nap. Savasana, the pose at the end of yoga, is a great practice for withdrawing from action in the senses and can be a practice all by itself.
On some social contacts or large trainings, feel freedom to turn off your camera or call in. This will give you some breaks from visual virtual platforms.
Take breaks between activities and get some outside time, even if it is for a few minutes.
Having more alertness in our nervous system can result in more bodily tension. Doing some gentle stretching can relieve and unwind tension. Again, this could be a couple of favorite stretches in between tasks and does not have to take a long period of time.
Develop and implement daily routines so that you have fewer decisions to make each day. We are all experiencing more decisions around morality and mortality than we typically do, so it is helpful to have general ideas about when we will shower, work, exercise, etc.
Find physical activity that you enjoy and can do consistently. Even short periods of physical activity are helpful for the body and nervous system.
Minimize your news intake, particularly images around death and violence as these. You may find that reading or listening to the news works better for you than watching the news.
Along with having routines, create and evaluate guidelines for safety so that you are not putting high energy into going out of the home. For example, members of a household could wash face masks after they return and hang them to dry in the laundry room, where they can be picked up for next outing.
I hope these tips will be helpful in helping you with managing your nervous systems.
See you soon.