What is trauma?
Any major life event that disrupts our sense of safety, security and identity (psychological or physical). Trauma can have emotional and physical manifestations.
COVID-19 has been traumatic. This may sound dramatic however I feel it has been traumatic for everyone, for some more than others. As human being’s we are designed to deal with short term, acute threats. Imagine you’re on a walk in the woods and you come across a brown grizzly bear. Our nervous system responds by switching on the sympathetic nervous system. This tells our endocrine system to release hormones to activate our bodies into action. Glycogen (a form of sugar) increases in the bloodstream, our pupils dilate, there is a decrease in digestion and an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. All of this enables us to react and run away from the bear.
COVID-19 has not been a short-term threat. It has been prolonged and heightened by other factors like loss of earnings, loss of a loved one, isolation, home schooling…. If you can imagine that COVID-19 is that brown grizzly bear, it hasn’t gone away yet, it is still chasing us. For many, our nervous systems were switched on at the beginning of lockdown and have not been able to switch off. Chronic stress like this can lead to severe anxiety, depression and for some PTSD which then affects all our physiological systems. For those that were already suffering from anxiety, depression or PTSD it is likely to have exacerbated it.
If we look at worry and anxiety in a positive way, relating to our body, it is telling us that we need to do something. Depression is different, this is when we get to the point of giving up, losing all hope and a feeling of helplessness. When we replay a stressful situation in our minds (or live through a pandemic), it is hard to break physiological affect’s that come with the stress, worry, anxiety. How we think, how we behave and lifestyle factors like exercise and diet can help change this cycle.
One of the first systems to be affected in adults and children is the respiratory system. When we become nervous, worried or anxious our breath becomes shallow. In severe cases like a panic attack, it’s almost like you can’t breathe. Changing the breath can change your emotional state.
Another early sign is insomnia. If we don’t process our feelings and experiences throughout the day, then they start whirring around in our heads as we finally try to slow down to get some rest. Sleep enables the brain to process learning, emotions and experiences. It’s like a healing tool for the mind and the body. Once our sleep is affected so are the many body systems.
Social distancing was an unfit choice of phrase at the beginning of lockdown. It should have been called physical distancing. Social isolation affects us all, particularly children. It can lead to loneliness, lowered self-esteem and can extend to social anxiety or depression. Social interaction nurtures empathy. So much of ourselves is in our reflected self; how others see us. For children, it may be the feedback from a teacher in a class setting or a child’s place in their peer group. We learn about ourselves through friendships, relationships, verbal reactions and body language. Social distancing is at odds with how children want to play and for teenagers, it is at odds with their brain development. Teenagers need to seek out new experiences, risks and practise living an independent lifestyle as they move toward to adulthood to nurture the development of their brain.
There are factors that may have helped through lockdown. Routine - getting up, regular meal times, exercise, bedtime and having our feelings validated is an important factor in wellbeing. Reflective listening from a friend, family member or as your role as a parent is the first step in Psychological First Aid. and helps to validate how we feel and accept that it’s ok to feeling that way. Avoiding the news is advisable, or when you do read/watch the news, counteracting it with something fun. The same goes for social media, too much can become addictive and is likely to undermine your mental health and wellbeing. Many have found solace in learning something new or furthering their learning with one of the many free online courses available.
We are moving into the next stage here in Scotland and while many of us have found ways to counteract the effects of social distancing through lockdown (video calls, screen time with friends, WhatsApp chat groups), not everyone has had access to these or wanted to use them.
I have worked with many children that have suffered with anxiety over the last three years and know the numbers of children with anxiety related symptoms will have increased as we move into post lockdown. I’ve seen how yoga, particularly breath work and relaxation support anxiety by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the opposite of the scary grizzly bear response – rest and digest. The aim of yoga is bringing the mind into stillness. I often explain it by imagining our minds as a lake; if we throw a rock (thought) into the lake it becomes murky as the silt is stirred up. Once the ripples in the water have become calm again, we can see the bottom the lake. We need to slow down our busy heads. We are always thinking, our minds darting from one thought to the next and the aim of yoga is to train our minds to come into stillness so we can rest.
The breathing technique I use most with children and teens to counteract anxiety is Straw Breathing. It encourages the exhalation to be longer than inhalation and this in turn supports calming the nervous system.
Crocodile pose ~ Makarasana can help encourage a full deep inhalation and exhalation which also nurtures calming the nervous system.
Some other ideas on how to help children and teens now:
- Young Minds had a wonderful idea of a Self Soothe Box. Creating a bag or box of items that could help soothe you when you became worried or anxious. When I discussed this with the children attending my virtual classes during lockdown, there were cuddly toys, chocolate and a tennis ball to massage our feet
- Journaling or keeping a diary to help process feelings and emotions. For younger children, it could be in the form of drawings. Naming an emotion helps children to process it. In Dr Dan Siegel book The Whole Brain Child, he explains it is necessary to ‘Name It, to Tame It’. Through story telling a child can help calm emotional storms and physical tension.
- Another way of discussing emotions is drawing a circle and dividing it up a bit like a pizza. They don’t need to be equal slices as each slice represents a feeling like happy, excited anxious, worried or nervous. Some of those feelings will be greater than others. Helping a child acknowledge those feelings will support them to process them. This avoids the scenario of them worrying about things at night and finding it difficult to get to sleep. Some children may need help with naming their feelings, click here for a simple feelings wheel to use.
- Listening to music, dancing, singing and karaoke!
- A meditation activity like creating something from Lego, origami, moving objects using chopsticks.
There’s no easy fix. Children, teens and adults alike will need time to adjust to what they have experienced through the last 12 weeks but also time to process it all. It’s going to take a long time for the effects of this traumatic experience to heal. I just hope that this pandemic is recognised as a trauma so that in its recognition, help and support can be offered to all the children and teenagers who lived through one of the toughest times of their lives.
There are many organisations and charities than offer support, here are just few of my suggestions:
Hub of Hope enables you to find local services near to you
SAMH Scottish Association of Mental Health
Young Minds Supporting children and young people’s mental health
Anxiety UK Advice and support for those with anxiety
Hope Again Helping young people live after loss
Childline Helping children and young people with any issue they are going through