A mental health prescription during the pandemic!
Updated: 7 days ago
A Mental Health Prescription for coping with the Coronavirus Pandemic
1) Take two 5-10 minute doses of Lovingkindness Meditation (LKM) in the am and in the pm.
Lovingkindness meditation has been shown to help us recover from cardiac reactivity produced by stress. It has also been shown to increase oxytocin (sometimes called the love hormone) which suppresses inflammation and reduces depression and hypertension. It also helps us experience social connectedness and a higher-than-self transcendent perceptual view. People report feeling more spirituality and more positive emotions, especially awe, gratitude, inspiration and love.
2) Engage socially a few times a week.
Use social media to positively engage with others. Have a cyber party, watch Netflix together, join a virtual prayer circle, or connect and play boards games together. Or just virtually get together for a chat. Maybe have a good old fashion conference call with friends. Reach out to those who live alone and engage in some compassionate listening calls.
3) Build your “core psychological strength” several times a week.
Living through and experiencing our virtues or strengths helps us achieve gratification in life (something deeper than mere satisfaction). This contributes to our overall well-being and activates “flourishing”. Have you taken the time to assess your strengths? You can also build these up through a mental or behavioral exercise of these. Check and consider what strengths apply to you, or which ones you want to build. (from Handbook-Character Strengths and Virtues) Choose one a day to work on.
Strengths of Wisdom and Knowledge
Creativity (originality, Ingenuity)
Curiosity (Interest, Novelty Seeking, Openness to experience)
Open mindedness (Judgment, Critical Thinking)
Love of Learning
Perspective (Wisdom)
Strengths of Courage
Bravery (Valor)
Persistence (Perseverance, Industriousness)
Integrity (Authenticity, Honesty)
Vitality (Zest, Enthusiasm, Vigor, Energy)
Strengths of Humanity
Love
Kindness (Generosity, Nurturance, Care, Compassion, Altruistic love, Niceness)
Social intelligence (Emotional Intelligence, Personal Intelligence)
Strengths of Justice
Citizenship (Social Responsibility, Loyalty, Teamwork)
Fairness
Leadership
Strengths of Temperance
Forgiveness and Mercy
Humility and Modesty
Prudence
Self-Regulation and Self-Control
Strengths of Transcendence
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence (Awe, Wonder, Elevation)
Gratitude
Hope (Optimism, Future-Mindedness, Future-Orientation
Humor (Playfulness)
Spirituality (Religiousness, Faith, Purpose
4) Interval training- create pockets of positivity “POP”s and moments of meaning (and purpose) “MOM”s in your daily routine.
Strategically induce positive emotions- jumping for joy, feeling peace, expressing love, finding awe, engage in what interests you, build hope goals and pathways, savor serenity, allow excitement about an event or project, be curious, find things that invigorate you. Invigorating emotions such as enthusiasm, great interest or passion create a positive surge of energy and have been shown to be associated with better physical health too!
Strategically induce meaning and purpose. These are those transcendent goals/events. Ask yourself what gives me and my life meaning and purpose? Go and find your passion!
Either induce all or any of these or catch them when they occur and savor them and let them accumulate in your memory. Let it be your daily prescription.
5) Rest and Replenish
Rest is so important to our mental, physical and social health. Sleep deprivation increases anxiety and depression symptoms. It also reduces ability to concentrate, solve problems, be creative and, as we all know, it increases irritability. It is generally agreed that 7.5 hours is the best amount of sleep to get. Some people need a little more and some a little less (but I do mean “a little”). Also, rest breaks are not “doing nothing” but rather they help us replenish our reserves and energy.
Relaxation breathing is also a form of replenishment. When we deeply breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly making the out breath long, we engage our Vagus nerve (the cranial nerve that connects our brain and heart and other internal organs), it stimulates the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) which has been called our calming system (the “rest and digest” system). Just as the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) stimulates our Fight, Flight or Freeze response and Spends our reserves, the PNS creates a physical calming response and Puts reserves back in. In Essence, it replenishes us. Engaging our vagus nerve through the relaxation breath increases cardiac vagal tone (CVT) which has been associated with better regulation of the cardiovascular system, better regulation of inflammatory processes (reducing inflammatory cytokines) and better regulation of blood glucose levels. In fact, doctors often use CVT (higher is best) as a good predictor of a better prognosis after a heart attack. It has been found that CVT amplifies positive emotions when we are with other people and that positive emotions and purpose are associated with higher cardiac vagal tone. It seems we have a biopsychosocial reciprocal dynamic that can be boosted by relaxation/meditation practices and MOMs and POPs.
A prescription of positive emotions and meaning and purpose doesn’t get rid of negative emotions, nor should it, because we need to experience all of our emotions. Instead, positive emotions help us adjust and adapt our response to negative events and emotions by building possibilities for pathways of growth both mentally, physically and socially. In essence, MOMs and POPs help build our psychological immune system.
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