COVID-19 Anxiety & Finding Meaning In the Chaos

Covid-19 has caused mass disruption to our lives in many ways, and people are experiencing the trauma of these effects on a global scale. Many have been personally impacted, experiencing losses of loved ones or facing financial insecurity. For many others, the situation has brought with it feelings of uncertainty, fear, despair and anxiety, which, at times, might be experienced as crippling and unbearable.

I believe there is much to learn from this time about how to bear with our anxieties, and about how to help ourselves, at present and in the long-run.

Why COVID-19 Has You Feeling Anxious

Our body naturally responds to danger: experiencing a threat or perceived threat activates our ‘survival system’, which sends us into fight, flight or freeze mode. This can be thought of as a stress response that helps us to react quickly. In small doses, anxiety in certain situations can actually help us to react appropriately to minimise danger, although anxiety that is out of hand (ruminating or catastrophising) causes an exaggerated stress response, and can lead to suffering from anxiety attacks or other unwanted physiological symptoms.

When faced with a perceived threat, the brain signals that you are in immediate danger (whether you actually are or not), and this directly impacts your body on a physiological level. When we feel worried or stressed, our brain releases hormones that actually suppress the effectiveness of the immune system. Thus, if we have a prolonged period of stress or worry, we can become more susceptible to infections. This is the irony of actively contemplating on and being worried about Covid-19!

During the pandemic, these ‘fight’, ‘flight’ or ‘freeze’ modes might reflect in some of our behaviours. These can be thought of in the following crude terms:

• ‘Fight’ mode is about combating the problem or threat in some way. This could manifest as becoming angered about how the situation is being dealt with, becoming irritable with others, practising obsessive handwashing or cleaning rituals.
• ‘Flight’ mode is about disconnecting or dissociating from the fact. This can be expressed as escapism into work, being over-productive or avoiding the news.
• ‘Freeze’ mode is the inability to move or act against the threat. This might manifest as apathy, or through eating too much of the wrong foods for comfort.

All of these responses are totally normal and understandable - right now you are doing all you can do to cope with the reality of the situation. But living with a continued level of stress and anxiety is not sustainable for anyone. At some point, it is important to consider the meanings we have attached to the situation, because it is the meaning we have created that is further affecting us or making us behave in these ways.

Existentialist & Trauma Perspectives on the Anxiety Caused by COVID-19

Twentieth-century philosopher Heidegger stated that the essence of our humanity – our Being – is always entwined with the lived-in world. This Being-in-the-world constitutes our ability to continually reflect on our experiences through meaning-relations: we look for a sense of meaning, from our relationships with people, objects and environment, having been thrown into a body, a world, a society and culture, with no choice in the matter.

Sartre (1943) postulated that only nothingness exists; that structures and systems are entirely arbitrary and fabricated by us. For Sartre, we have merely created something to compensate for having nothing. In essence, we effectively need something, to ground ourselves in the meanings we have created. Nietzsche was also sensitive to this necessity to ‘fill the void’, stating, “man has to believe, to know…why he exists; [the human] race cannot flourish without a periodic trust in life” (Nietzsche & Kaufmann, 1974). Ernest Becker (1971) took this notion even further, suggesting that humans must be “convinced” that life has meaning in order to survive at all. Losing a sense of meaning can indeed cause psychological disturbance.

Additionally, our creation of meaning goes beyond the past and present; we must also find a way to project ourselves into the future. Schumacher (2003) wrote of the philosophy of hope: “The human being is…compelled to move continually forward into the future…Without temporality, the human being would no longer be “en route”, and thus would no longer hope” (Schumacher, 2003: 253). When it is hard to envision a future amidst uncertain times, it inevitably impacts our sense of hope, hope that we need in order to move forward.

If we consider all of these factors, we can better understand why the uncertainty of the current situation is causing so much stress, confusion and emotional upheaval at an individual level. We are not built to endure hopelessness or a loss of meaning. In fact, trauma can best be understood as a psychological and physiological response to a threatening event, rather than the event itself. Cognitions linked to trauma often comprise of a loss of meaning, or a person’s compromised sense of safety in the world (American Psychiatric Association, 2013); some psychotherapeutic approaches to working with trauma focus exclusively on exploring these meanings (Roth & Fonagy, 2005). For the person experiencing trauma, they might feel as though the rug has been pulled from under their feet. Given our current situation – where ‘normal’ structures and systems have failed, and life has been ‘interrupted’ due to a real threat, it is reasonable to believe that people might be experiencing a similar phenomenon.

So, let’s be clear. You are not afraid of a virus; you are afraid of dying. You are not just afraid of losing your financial security; you are afraid of being out of control. Nevertheless, the very nature of being alive has always constituted of certain death and ultimately not being in control – these facts have simply been put under a magnifying glass during this time. It might actually be dawning on us that we did not have any control, to begin with! For some people, that might be a pretty frightening revelation.

The emergence of Covid-19 has shattered illusions that perhaps we were living with – illusions of having control and of being able to amass unfailing security. We have seen that the faith we had placed in everyday ‘givens’ i.e. economic infrastructure or our jobs was in vain; nothing is as unshakable as we once thought. All the while, things that previously held some superficial value in society – for example, popularity, appearance and material possessions, suddenly, in a very real way, mean nothing. In this sense, many things have been revealed as either having failed or not having importance. In a time of crisis, all that truly matters is our ability to survive.

The virus has shown itself to be no respecter of persons; anyone can be affected regardless of age, wealth, social class, cultural background. The fact that “nobody is safe” can be an anxiety-provoking thought in and of itself. Yet, in many ways, this has levelled the arbitrary divides that society has in place, and brought us back to a sense of our shared humanity.

While the systems we have known offered some structure in our lives, they arguably have also distracted us from really connecting with what it means to be alive, and the inherent anxiousness in that fact. In essence, we have been distracting ourselves from our innate universal human suffering and the fact that we are all dying (the big, existential elephant in the room) – and we have been avoiding it for too long.

For Heidegger, having a revelation of our own temporality is the most ‘authentic’ way to live. He states that, for the most part, people live in ‘inauthenticity’. He uses this term to describe the domination of social conformity we are born into – an inherited culture or social structural system, where particular views are imposed on us and certain behaviours are expected from us. Through the process of socialisation, we inherently put our trust in these systems and collude with these social norms – a kind of mass brainwashing from birth, if you will! In this state, we actually forget to ask the question of what it means to exist, and to question the validity or helpfulness of these systems. He proposes that this exercise is only possible once we ‘wake up’. While ‘waking up’ might come at a price (experiencing an existential crisis, or a traumatic event for example), the payoff can be so much greater, causing us to live with “an impassioned freedom towards death” (Heidegger, 1927: 311). We have the opportunity to live truer to ourselves, and with a greater sense of purpose than ever before. I propose that ‘waking up’ can either pave the way for existential nihilism or the birth of hope.

Existential nihilism is essentially the “it’s all meaningless” approach to living, which can give way to recklessness, anarchy or self-destruction. In popular culture, we have most notably seen this in the character of Tyler Durden in the (2000) movie Fight Club. Tyler is essentially right in saying, “it’s only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything” – he is truly ‘awake’ – he no longer has any delusions about life, but unfortunately descends into chaos down a nihilistic route. Living in the world in this way (with a sense of nothingness and chaos) is not sustainable – it is too awful to bear the weight of nothingness. It is in our nature to ground ourselves in some kind of created meaning; we must fill the nothingness with something in order to hope and to survive. So, while people might entertain some nihilistic thoughts for a time, they often snap out of it when an outlook that’s less bleak presents itself! Truthfully, a lot of things might, in fact, be meaningless, but there is great worth in (re)creating meaning, and making things matter.

To recap, you’re probably feeling anxious because:

• You are living with a genuine threat.
• Daily life looks different; it’s disconcerting and you can’t make sense of it.
• You realise that life is short and precarious, and nothing is promised to us.
• You are now reading about how everything might mean nothing (but it’s definitely better for your mental health if you make everything mean something).

“None of this is helping my anxiety,” I hear you say. That’s fair enough. Nevertheless, it is my philosophy that we must contextualise our suffering in order to truly honour our experiences and to see ourselves with greater compassion.

In What Ways Can I Help Myself Now?

Generally speaking, anxiety peaks when we have spent some time in rumination, often playing out worst-case-scenarios in our mind. So, if we find ourselves going down this rabbit hole, we must learn to stop ourselves in our tracks. How? We have to refocus our attention to the present moment. In practice, this means making the mental shift from “this could happen!” to “what is happening to me right now ?”. You’ll (hopefully) often find that not much is happening to you at all! In this way, you are coaching the frightened part of you and showing yourself that you are safe now, which can work wonders in calming yourself down.

Aside from coaching yourself, practising Mindfulness is the quickest way to stop yourself in your tracks. Mindfulness is essentially the practice of paying attention to the present moment. The easiest way to do this is to close your eyes and really focus on your breathing: what your breath feels like as it passes through your body, noticing how your chest or stomach rise and fall, and any other physical sensations that you are experiencing, without attaching meaning to any of it. This is the practice of simply tuning into your breath and body, and if any other thoughts cross your mind, notice them without indulging them, and gently reattune your attention to your breath and body.

The reason why the practice of Mindfulness is so important is that this kind of meditation is proven to modulate anxiety. The neural pathways in our brain change when we practice Mindfulness, encouraging the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis), along with creating new connections between existing neurons (synaptogenesis), with no ill-effects (Krishnakumar et al, 2015). This means that you are building and repairing your brain (reversing the effects of trauma), whilst relieving general anxiety – that’s good medicine! If you are unsure about how to do this on your own, check out YouTube for a whole bunch of free guided Mindfulness meditations.

Other notable activities to relieve stress and anxiety are exercise and keeping socially connected (physical distancing should not mean social disconnection). Keeping physically active decreases stress hormones, increases endorphins and aids sleep (which is also key for emotional processing). Keeping in touch with your social networks promotes a sense of safety and protection, which minimises psychological and physiological reactions to perceived threats.

What About Long Term?

I think it is important to find the value that surpasses the hard times. Certainly, it is part of human nature to seek pleasure over pain. Nevertheless, our Western culture predominantly rejects suffering – opting instead to repress it or medicate it, or to seek quick-fix solutions in an attempt to ‘get over it’. This differs vastly from Eastern culture, that regards suffering with greater acceptance, recognising that pain can cultivate worthwhile character traits such as wisdom and compassion.

If we can learn to see past the pain, to the possibility of these benefits, we can become more accepting of our suffering. Moreover, when we regard suffering as truly inevitable, we experience a lesser degree of suffering as a result. This echoes Gestalt Psychology’s Paradoxical Theory of Change: “Change occurs when one becomes what he is, not when he tries to become what he is not” (Beisser, 1970: 77).

We can come to understand that during times of adversity, we actually receive an invitation to live. ‘Living’ in the ‘normal’ sense might look different these days, but I’m not talking about living as you did before this, or about planning your next holiday. I’m talking about taking stock of how you have lived and stepping towards a greater purpose.

In 2004, Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun presented their empirical evidence for posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth is said to go beyond resilience in the face of suffering; rather, it is about using suffering as a catalyst to ascend into overall healthier psychological functioning.

Posttraumatic growth is signified in the following five experiential domains:

(1) Relating to others: the strengthening of relationships – old and new. It comprises of a willingness to form deeper bonds with friends or family or to connect with others that have also suffered. Through vulnerable discussions, we process our hardships, which aids our own sense of meaning-making (Park & Al, 2006).

(2) New possibilities: the realisation of different possibilities and the perception of new opportunities for one’s life, followed by actioning these pursuits (Roepke & Seligman, 2015).

(3) Personal strength: the appreciation of one’s own resilience and becoming empowered with the knowledge of having survived adversity. With this realisation, people will trust their ability to cope with and to overcome future challenges.

(4) Spiritual change: an increased contemplation about existence, which either challenges or affirms previous beliefs. Research suggests that there are psychological benefits to strengthening a connection to a higher power (Pargament, 2001).

(5) Appreciation of life. This involves learning to cherish life, moment by moment. Times of tragedy can inspire us to value goodness, savouring moments and practising gratitude, both of which have been proven to increase people’s sense of contentment (Sansone & Sansone, 2010; Jose et al, 2012).

Any recovery from trauma involves fully embracing the pain of what has happened and the process of the aftermath. The fact of posttraumatic growth does not diminish suffering attached to trauma or imply that trauma is somehow good. Nevertheless, it shows us that we are capable of thriving, even having endured trauma.

If we can recognise that we are responsible for what we do moving forward, we can gain some perceived control over our recovery, and if we decide to invest in some of the domains mentioned above, we can turn suffering into personal development, affirming who we are and what we can do next.

When our sense of what matters when life is shaken, or indeed when we are faced with our own temporality, we begin to look for an eternal sense of mattering. This encompasses the untouchable, unshakable things that remain – like your character or your legacy (who you are and the things that you have contributed towards) that will long outlive you. Nietzsche put it like this: “Man must be sustained in suffering by a hope so high that no conflict with actuality can dash it – so high, indeed, that no fulfilment can satisfy it: a hope reaching out beyond this world” (Nietzsche et al, 2005).

Our lives are based around finding enduring meaning, and sociologists have confirmed that the notion of ‘success’ is actually valueless, unless we truly believe that what we do makes a difference (Carter, 2015). Defining features of experiencing a meaningful life are in connecting and contributing to something beyond the self (Smith, 2017).

In order to achieve this, we need to be engaged in “meaningful work”, which is defined as “when an individual perceives an authentic connection between their work and a broader transcendent life purpose beyond the self” (Bailey & Madden, 2015: 2).

Undertaking ‘meaningful work’ does not necessarily have to correspond to your day job. Rather, consider the phrase to mean any activity in which you contribute to a larger cause and activities that you can keep doing.

While you don’t necessarily have to have a natural flair for the activities that you take part in, if you combine your desire for ‘meaningful work’ with your natural abilities and talents, you are set to receive the greatest sense of fulfilment! Take some time to ask yourself important questions: What am I good at? What do I love doing? When do I feel most alive? How can I use these things to positively impact others?

Answering such questions helps to align ourselves to a sense of our vocation, and, if we operate from this place, we will feel most fulfilled in life. When everything else falls away, all that we are left with is what we have in our hands. When we recognise that we have something to give, we instinctively realise that our lives do matter. In this, we create hope and meaning for ourselves and for others: we actually need to give what we have to offer, as much as other people need to receive it, especially during this time.

References

American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.

Bailey, C. & Madden, A. (2016) ‘What makes work meaningful - or meaningless?’ MIT Sloan Management Review, 57 (4) pp. 1-17.

Becker, E. (1971) The Birth and Death of Meaning: An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Problem of Man. New York: Free Press.

Beisser, A. (1970) ‘The Paradoxical Theory of Change’. In: Fagan, J. and Shepherd, I.L., Eds., Gestalt Therapy Now, Harper & Row, New York, 77-80.

Carter, C. (2015) The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work. New York: Ballantine Books.

Fincher, D., et al. (2000). Fight Club. Beverly Hills, California, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Heidegger, M. (1927) Being & Time. Trans. Macquarrie, J. & Robinson, E.S. (1962) Oxford: Blackwell.

Jose, P.E., Lim, B.T. & Bryant, F.B. (2012) ‘Does savouring increase happiness? A daily diary study’, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7 (3) pp.176-187.

Krishnakumar, D, Hamblin, M.R. & Lakshmanan (2015) ‘Meditation and Yoga can Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety-A Modern Scientific Perspective’. Ancient Science of Life. 2 (1) pp. 13-19.

Nietzsche, F. W., & Kaufmann, W. (1974). The gay science; with a prelude in rhymes and an appendix of songs. New York, Vintage Books.

Nietzsche, F. W., Ridley, A., & Norman, J. (2005). The Anti-Christ, Ecce homo, Twilight of the idols, and other writings. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.

Pargament, K.I. (2001) The Psychology of Religion and Coping: The Theory, Research, Practice. London: Guilford Press.

Park, C.L. & AI, A.L. (2006) ‘Meaning Making and Growth: New Directions for Research on Survivors of Trauma’, Journal of Loss and Trauma, 11 (5) pp.389-407.

Roepke, A.M. & Seligman, M.E.P. (2015) ‘Doors opening: A mechanism for growth after adversity’, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10 (2) pp.107-115.

Roth, A. & Fonagy, P. (2005) What Works for Whom? A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research. New York: Guilford Press.

Sansone, R.A. & Sansone, L.A. (2010) ‘Gratitude & Well Being: The Benefits of Appreciation’. Psychiatry (Edgmont) 7 (11) pp.18–22.

Sartre, J-P (1943) Being and Nothingness. Trans. Barnes, H.E., Abingdon: Routledge

Schumacher, Bernard (2003) A Philosophy of Hope: Josef Pieper and the Contemporary Debate on Hope. New York: Fordham University Press

Smith, E.E. (2017) The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed with Happiness. New York: Broadway Books.

Tedeschi, R.G. & Calhoun, L.G. (2004) ‘Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence’, Psychological Inquiry, 15 (1) pp. 1-18.