Languishing & Post-COVID Stress Disorder
I miss how I experienced my life Before The Pandemic or “BTP”. These days, my concept of time sometimes revolves around BTP and life After The Pandemic, or “ATP.”
And even with BTP and ATP, my subconscious mind denies that time has continued, and I find myself typing 2021 or 2020 down as the year and then needing to fix it.
Without conscious intent, my body moves through the motions, yet my heart and mind are holding onto BTP, a time when I felt a greater sense of aliveness and balance in my life.
I miss those long embracing hugs when first seeing a family member. I miss leaning in toward a friend at a coffee shop table and looking into their eyes as they share a story. I miss physical intimacy without the fear of getting sick. I miss signing up for workout classes at a local studio, sweating next to a workout friend, and feeling that shared sense of energetic community, without the fear that someone’s sweat will drip onto me and spread the virus.
I miss not giving it a second thought when someone coughs or sneezes at a restaurant near me and I yearn for the days when I booked airline tickets to a fun new place, my only mild angst being waiting in line at security and taking off my shoes. ATP, it’s such a bother to fly anywhere because of the looming possibility of plane delays, flight cancelations, and illness.
Living in Los Angeles, I miss walking out my door to go for a walk with my dog without seeing so many homeless people struggling for necessities. I miss walking down the street looking at the birds in the sky without wondering if I will see roads blocked off due to a recent gun shooting incident. It reduces my felt sense of safety and is a reminder of how many people have been in mental, emotional, and physical pain during this pandemic.
BTP life used to feel balanced, joyful, harmonic, and expansive, whereas life ATP feels imbalanced, blah, chaotic, and cautiously small. It takes daily intentional effort to bring myself into balance and feel joy, harmony, and expansiveness.
As I write this, I am aware that I may be experiencing some of the symptoms of what mental health professionals are calling post-COVID stress or languishing. Some people have returned to a new normal and to the activities and routines they did BTP, including returning to work in person, hanging out often with friends and family, going to restaurants and events, attending workout classes, and traveling. Others, including myself, may continue to live a cautious lifestyle that looks noticeably different from BTP. Even if you have externally returned to BTP daily activities, you may relate inwardly to some of these post-COVID stress disorder symptoms.
Studies show that globally, adults are experiencing greater levels of stress and anxiety after the two years of the pandemic than BTP. Dr. JoAnn Difede, Ph.D., stated that some of the post-COVID stress disorder symptoms include increased moodiness, difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, irritability, and anxiety compared to BTP.
Even if you don’t identify with post-COVID stress disorder symptoms, many people have identified with the term languishing, a term that Dr. Adam Grant, Ph.D., defines as a sense of stagnation and emptiness. Dr. Grant describes languishing as “muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.”
So what can be done to help alleviate post-COVID stress disorder and languishing? Dr. JoAnn Difede, Ph.D., shares that “as humans, we often think that if the problem seems enormous, the solution has to be, and that isn’t the case.”
If you too are identifying with symptoms of post-COVID stress disorder or languishing, here my top 5 suggestions that have helped me work through my own sense of languishing from the start to the end of the day:
1) Create a Healthy Morning Routine: Create a healthy routine such as starting the morning with a healthy breakfast and cup of coffee before you check emails, social media, or begin work. Keeping a regular schedule can reduce stress and stagnation, and can promote a sense of consistency, a locus of control, and forward momentum.
2) Mindfulness in Nature: Carve out some time in the morning or during a lunch break for a guided meditation outside. For a non-guided mindful moment, sit out for at least 5 minutes or more with a gentle gaze, listen to the birds, and feel the breeze. You can start to observe how nature continues onward with its routine in a similar way as BTP.
3) Read a Book: Replace the extra screen time of scrolling through social media in the afternoon with an engaging book of your choosing. It could be a novel, a self-improvement book, or a biography about the life of someone who inspires you.
4) Speak with a friend, family member, or your therapist: Share what you are experiencing with a non-judgmental, understanding, and supportive person in your life over dinner or video chat. Start to feel more expansive after you have space to vent and share what is on your mind.
5) Sleepytime Meditation: Replace that extra Netflix episode about to play with a guided sleep meditation. Sleepytime meditations help you increase your melatonin, signal your brain that it is time for rest, and allow you to temporarily store away any essential thoughts and tasks for the next day.
Remember, these are continual practices to reduce that sense of languishing or post-COVID stress that you may find yourself in ATP, increasing moments of balance, joy, gratitude, harmony, expansiveness, and purpose.
Along with these techniques, one of our therapists at Root to Rise would love to help you find unique solutions for your feelings and situation. Please contact our Client Care Coordinator today for a free initial consultation.
Warmly,
Root to Rise Therapy
