Eustressed? Cognitive Overload and Working Through a Global Pandemic

Authors: Drs. Laura Rees, Bryce Mulligan, & Kerri Ritchie, C.Psych., Psychologists

Pandemics, by definition, change the way that we work and live in this world and result in multiple behaviour changes. This creates additional strain on our brain because we end up having to do more, to constantly reconsider how and why we do things, and to consume a high volume of information on a continual basis. We underestimate the impact that this high level of continued stress has on our body, mind, and soul.

Our body’s protective system (through the HPA axis) is activated when under stress. This keeps us focused, gives us energy, and helps us rise to meet unexpected challenges. This system helps us to respond to get us through a challenge, and then comes back down, so our system can rest and recharge. Eustress (“good stress”) is a sense of satisfaction and purpose derived from adapting to or coping with stressors perceived to be in our control. In a pandemic, we may have some periods of rest, but most people working in health care have had more frequent and more prolonged periods of needing to respond than they have had periods of rest or normalcy at work. This means we are dealing with chronic stress. What this means for people is that it can take less time to feel tired, or there may be a continuous feeling of fatigue occurring throughout the day. You may notice that you are more forgetful, having trouble concentrating, or are making more mistakes than usual. You might be feeling less patient/tolerant and/or experiencing a sense of languishing. You could even be feeling less excitement than usual and more “meh” towards things the events occurring around you.

Chronic stress is often associated with distress (“bad stress”) – an experience of being overwhelmed by and a perception that we cannot control, cope with, or adapt to stressors. We can have more trouble controlling anxiety, our mood can be lower, and it is easier to become frustrated. At this point, we have depleted most of our own internal resources. We can start to look to external strategies to help us. We might find ourselves eating more or making different food choices, seeking physical activity (e.g. exercise, outdoor activities), watching more TV or playing more video games, or increasing or adding substance use. We might look to other people to find solutions or make things better for us. All of these behaviours are ways that we try to help ourselves get through an exceptionally difficult situation and resolve our distress.

Tips to help you support yourself during chronic stress:

• Name it to tame it - When we translate an experience into language, we essentially make the experience graspable. When we put our emotional experiences into words, we can feel more in control of our experiences and lessen the intensity of our emotions.

• Take 5 minutes to re-set your system and Decompress.

  • Breathe. (If you can, breathe slowly and deeply through your belly.)

  • Look outside. (Try to notice/appreciate something beautiful.)

  • Take a walk: in the hall, the stairs, outside.

  • Stretch

• Do something kind for someone else.

• 3 Good Things - Think about what went well in your life today, or what you are grateful for. If it is consistently difficult to identify anything good, you may want to talk to someone about what you are feeling. [This is Seligman's "Three Good Things" exercise, and there is strong evidence that it improves well-being].

In chronic stress, feeling a sense of information overload is common. It can be challenging to digest new information, or we may be struggling to remember what we were doing or what we need to do. We may feel more scattered and have difficulty making decisions. It might feel a bit like we are watching TV, but someone else has the remote control and keeps changing the channel. This can lead to cognitive overload and fatigue.

Tips that can help your brain work at its best:

• Focus your brain on what needs to be done: When you face new changes, take a moment to write down your priorities and how these impact your usual practices so you can break them in small chunks – this makes it easier to think of realistic solutions.

• Prioritize activities/tasks

  • break tasks down into smaller realistic steps

  • recognize that it may take you longer to complete a task/activity

  • don’t be afraid to ask others if in doubt

• Use the WIN strategy – What is Important Now

A pandemic is like running a continuous marathon, with some sprints thrown in, in bad weather. Add to that your work and living your life. Depletion and fatigue are to be expected. Try to go easy on yourself and on those around you.