This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/us/coronavirus-mental-health-stress-anxiety-loneliness.html

The article has changed 32 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 20 Version 21
How Coronavirus Is Taking a Toll on Mental Health How Coronavirus Is Taking a Toll on Mental Health
(32 minutes later)
— Francesca Donner, editor of In Her Words, on how the coronavirus is taking a toll on people’s mental health— Francesca Donner, editor of In Her Words, on how the coronavirus is taking a toll on people’s mental health
In Her Words is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.In Her Words is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.
There’s no doubt about it: As the weeks of shelter-in-place orders drag on, the ever-present drumbeat of stress is getting harder to ignore. People are antsy, plans to “reopen” states are vague and contradictory, and as the questions mount, the answers remain just out of reach.There’s no doubt about it: As the weeks of shelter-in-place orders drag on, the ever-present drumbeat of stress is getting harder to ignore. People are antsy, plans to “reopen” states are vague and contradictory, and as the questions mount, the answers remain just out of reach.
Can I still afford rent? When can I see my friends again? Will my kids ever return to school? Is it safe to go outside? What will life look like when this is all over, if this situation ever truly ends?Can I still afford rent? When can I see my friends again? Will my kids ever return to school? Is it safe to go outside? What will life look like when this is all over, if this situation ever truly ends?
Stress changes a person, at least in the short term. Experts reassure us that strange dreams, scattershot memories and bodily discomfort are all normal responses to a highly unusual situation. But that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable — or unsettling.Stress changes a person, at least in the short term. Experts reassure us that strange dreams, scattershot memories and bodily discomfort are all normal responses to a highly unusual situation. But that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable — or unsettling.
We’re here for some candid talk about the rising levels of stress during lockdown, and how to cope. Corinne Purtill is a freelance journalist and a parent of two, and Francesca Donner is a Times editor and a parent of three.We’re here for some candid talk about the rising levels of stress during lockdown, and how to cope. Corinne Purtill is a freelance journalist and a parent of two, and Francesca Donner is a Times editor and a parent of three.
Corinne: Hi, Francesca. We’re now — let me check my notes here — about seven and a half years into home quarantine. How are you doing?Corinne: Hi, Francesca. We’re now — let me check my notes here — about seven and a half years into home quarantine. How are you doing?
Francesca: Well, technically fine. But it’s been well over a month since my kids stopped going to school and I stopped going to the office and we officially stopped seeing people, other than a grocery worker here or there. Not to point out the obvious, but it starts to wear you down. You?Francesca: Well, technically fine. But it’s been well over a month since my kids stopped going to school and I stopped going to the office and we officially stopped seeing people, other than a grocery worker here or there. Not to point out the obvious, but it starts to wear you down. You?
Corinne: Same. On good days, I remember to be grateful that my family is healthy, and we have a safe place to stay. But I still liked it better back when I had all that stuff and I could go wherever I wanted.Corinne: Same. On good days, I remember to be grateful that my family is healthy, and we have a safe place to stay. But I still liked it better back when I had all that stuff and I could go wherever I wanted.
Francesca: I realize a large part of the problem for me is simply not knowing the end point. The way it is now, there are these hazy dates on the horizon, but they seem just to feed a false sense of hope. Nobody actually knows when this will end.Francesca: I realize a large part of the problem for me is simply not knowing the end point. The way it is now, there are these hazy dates on the horizon, but they seem just to feed a false sense of hope. Nobody actually knows when this will end.
Corinne: Nobody knows. A friend of mine compared it to entering a marathon and finding out midrace that they’re moving the finish line back a few miles — again, and again, and again.Corinne: Nobody knows. A friend of mine compared it to entering a marathon and finding out midrace that they’re moving the finish line back a few miles — again, and again, and again.
Francesca: You can see people starting to unravel. A LeanIn.Org survey out this week suggests women are experiencing stress at up to twice the rate of men. And being under this pressure makes us — women and men — do and say things that, well, we might not normally do. Parents shouting at kids. Adults shouting at each other.Francesca: You can see people starting to unravel. A LeanIn.Org survey out this week suggests women are experiencing stress at up to twice the rate of men. And being under this pressure makes us — women and men — do and say things that, well, we might not normally do. Parents shouting at kids. Adults shouting at each other.
One friend of mine said she threw her husband’s clothes out of the window because he left them on the floor. She said it was extremely cathartic.One friend of mine said she threw her husband’s clothes out of the window because he left them on the floor. She said it was extremely cathartic.
Corinne: Oh my God. I think I just snorted my coffee through my nose.Corinne: Oh my God. I think I just snorted my coffee through my nose.
Francesca: Plus, you’re either never alone, or always alone. Harried families and roommates are desperate for a moment of peace, while for some people isolating alone, maybe all they want is a moment of companionship.Francesca: Plus, you’re either never alone, or always alone. Harried families and roommates are desperate for a moment of peace, while for some people isolating alone, maybe all they want is a moment of companionship.
Corinne: A definitive conclusion from this quarantine is that humans’ sweet spot really is somewhere between “alone every minute” and “never alone for a second.”Corinne: A definitive conclusion from this quarantine is that humans’ sweet spot really is somewhere between “alone every minute” and “never alone for a second.”
Francesca: Indeed.Francesca: Indeed.
Corinne: There was a haunting line in Jill Lepore’s recent New Yorker piece on loneliness: “One tragedy of loneliness is that lonely people can’t see that lots of people feel the same way they do.”Corinne: There was a haunting line in Jill Lepore’s recent New Yorker piece on loneliness: “One tragedy of loneliness is that lonely people can’t see that lots of people feel the same way they do.”
Francesca: Lonely people can experience “touch deprivation” too. Andrew Solomon, a clinical psychology professor at Columbia, wrote about in an Opinion piece for The Times. Experts have argued that it can exacerbate depression and weaken the immune system.Francesca: Lonely people can experience “touch deprivation” too. Andrew Solomon, a clinical psychology professor at Columbia, wrote about in an Opinion piece for The Times. Experts have argued that it can exacerbate depression and weaken the immune system.
Updated July 21, 2020 Updated July 22, 2020
And then there’s the feeling that things are out of control — the world can’t control the virus, and we can’t control the most basic aspects of our lives. That can make people lean too hard on coping mechanisms — too much drinking, for one.And then there’s the feeling that things are out of control — the world can’t control the virus, and we can’t control the most basic aspects of our lives. That can make people lean too hard on coping mechanisms — too much drinking, for one.
Corinne: I spoke recently with Nir Eyal, a productivity consultant, and he mentioned a 2006 study that found that workers in situations with high expectations, little social support and minimal control over their working conditions — basically, our lives right now — were at greater risk for mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.Corinne: I spoke recently with Nir Eyal, a productivity consultant, and he mentioned a 2006 study that found that workers in situations with high expectations, little social support and minimal control over their working conditions — basically, our lives right now — were at greater risk for mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.
Something that does seem to offer a bit of an antidote to that is finding a routine.Something that does seem to offer a bit of an antidote to that is finding a routine.
Francesca: I agree. If uncertainty is the beast, as the Atlantic posits, then a routine, however minor, may be some small panacea. And there are other things we can do to help manage the risk, like washing hands or wearing a mask.Francesca: I agree. If uncertainty is the beast, as the Atlantic posits, then a routine, however minor, may be some small panacea. And there are other things we can do to help manage the risk, like washing hands or wearing a mask.
Corinne: Totally. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, an associate professor of psychiatry at Northwestern University, told me that people fare better when they think of their actions as conscious choices rather than circumstances thrust upon them. It’s the difference between thinking “I am stuck at home” and “I am choosing to protect my community’s health by staying at home.”Corinne: Totally. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, an associate professor of psychiatry at Northwestern University, told me that people fare better when they think of their actions as conscious choices rather than circumstances thrust upon them. It’s the difference between thinking “I am stuck at home” and “I am choosing to protect my community’s health by staying at home.”
Francesca: That’s a helpful way of framing it, and much more constructive than mulling what you’re missing, what could have been or what might have been. So, Corinne, is there anything you do to manage your stress?Francesca: That’s a helpful way of framing it, and much more constructive than mulling what you’re missing, what could have been or what might have been. So, Corinne, is there anything you do to manage your stress?
Corinne: I leave my house. On foot. Once a day. It doesn’t really matter where I go. I walk or run, I feel air on my skin, I take a break from doing and just be. You?Corinne: I leave my house. On foot. Once a day. It doesn’t really matter where I go. I walk or run, I feel air on my skin, I take a break from doing and just be. You?
Francesca: Hikes with my family. Every day. Rain or shine.Francesca: Hikes with my family. Every day. Rain or shine.
If you are enjoying In Her Words, invite a friend to sign up. Share your thoughts with us at inherwords@nytimes.com.If you are enjoying In Her Words, invite a friend to sign up. Share your thoughts with us at inherwords@nytimes.com.