Are you Covid stressed?

Am I losing it or am I Covid stressed?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, as I fight to remember simple things and stumble over my words. Am I Covid stressed – or something worse?

After reading a few articles, Dr. Google says stress. And I bet you’re feeling it, too. But why? And more important, what can we do about it?

We work in a stress-filled sector

Let’s face it, working in a nonprofit or with nonprofits usually means stress. It seems built-in to expectations of us that we will do more for less. Somehow, we often do make miracles happen. That only raises higher expectations.

But now, when the world is facing a deadly pandemic – and has been for more than a year – we’re all in it. Most of us know someone who had or has Covid. And too many people have lost friends or loved ones.

The rest of us are just trying to be as efficient as we normally are. Because work. And if we’re used to working in an office and are now working from home, the barriers between work and home are gone.

People who are used to being around other people are aching for company. And even people who are used to working alone miss other people. I haven’t hugged my oldest daughter in a year. We’re both huggers.

Living via Zoom meetings is hard, too. Some people love phone calls, some love Zoom. Some people are energized by these interactions. Others are exhausted. So when a well-meaning person sets up a “fun” event via Zoom, it feels grouchy to decline. Even if it’s not fun at all for you.

The stress makes us depressed, anxious and irritable. Not to mention feeling slow, dull. And it’s showing.

So what’s going on with us?

The most interesting thing about this {gestures widely} time is how it affects our brains. Here’s what I learned. This brain fog we’re feeling affects all of our thinking: memory, attention, problem-solving, creativity. All the things we need most to do our work.

One explanation scientists are looking at is the sameness of life during Covid. Our brains are always searching for something new and interesting. (That kept our distant ancestors from being food instead of hunter.)

And being stuck in the same place, staring at the same monitor, day after day, doesn’t offer much stimulation. It makes us feel sluggish.

The sameness can also affect our memory. We’re missing out on distinctive experiences. Our brain uses those to encode memories. No wonder I’ve been feeling like this!

We need people to be our best

In a big way, we’re missing other people. Our brains are tuned to “wake up” in the presence of other people. We’re social creatures – even the most introverted of us. And we don’t know yet whether digital equivalents – like video calls – can work the same way.

All this stress also causes inflammation. That affects our immune systems. (Right, just when we really need them! Get your vaccination, please.) When stress happens, the hormone cortisol is released. That’s so when a lion is about to attack, our body is ready to fight off the bacteria in its teeth.

21st century stress still generates cortisol. But rather than saving us from an animal bite, it lowers our attention, concentration and memory.

So what can you do about Covid stress?

I wish I could give you the week off. But I don’t think I have that power. But all of this is really our brains telling us to lay off.

Right now, working at a normal pace is big-time stressful. We need to recalibrate our expectations – of ourselves and of other people.

Then we’d be smart to find other ways to manage our stress. Get outside if the weather is finally nice. Take a 15-minute break to just let your mind wander. Work to music. Practice mindfulness. Exercise. (Yeah, I know. But it decreases inflammation and increases new brain cells. I know I need a few more!)

Interestingly, “education leads to a cognitive reserve – a stockpile of thinking abilities – which provides some protection when we have negative life events. In fact, we know that people are less likely to suffer from depression and problems in cognition if they have better cognitive reserve. (I learned the above from this article. See what I did there?)

Be easier on yourself

We’re all going through something huge together. Someday, we’ll have stories to share of the great pandemic.

But we’re not there yet. We’re still in it.

So be kinder to yourself. Be kinder to the people around you – whether in person or not. If it’s at all possible, reset your goals.

If you have staff members reporting to you, give them a break, too. As much as we need to get done, there is only so much we’re all capable of doing right now.