As I write, it’s been fourteen months since SARS-CoV-2 emerged. That’s the virus that causes the disease we call COVID-19. Because of this virus, many ways in which we live have changed. Some people are attempting to live life as they did before the emergence of the virus: eating in restaurants, socializing in bars and nightclubs, or traveling regularly. Others have taken the precautions very seriously and stay home as much as possible, keeping physical distance from other people. We all find our own ways to cope with life in the pandemic.
No matter how you have chosen to live with this virus, our levels of tension have increased over the past year. The extra attention we take regarding our day-to-day activities, balancing work with our children’s education, witnessing friends and loved ones challenged by various levels of illness, losing family members and friends to COVID-19 all result in a significant amount of added stress in our lives. I know for myself that there are days when I simply feel exhausted. The exhaustion is not from any single event but the result of the cumulative impact that living during the pandemic puts on my psyche and spirit.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control has reported an increase in symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders when comparing statistics from 2019 to those of 2020. That only makes sense. In addition to the day-to-day stress, even with vaccine availability, we don’t know what the future will bring. Currently, there’s no clarity about when vaccines will be available for most people. Even when vaccinated, the public health recommendations are to wear masks and maintain social distancing. But there are more uncertainties. What about the viral mutations that are being discovered in various countries? How do they fit into the picture? Yes, uncertainly leads us to more stress, symptoms of depression, and anxiety.
Depression is often mistaken for feeling sad or blue. It’s more like feeling nothing: a numbness. Many people who are depressed will say that they feel like they are sinking or stuck in a deep hole and can’t get out. Anxiety, on the other hand, is different from nervousness. Anxiety can include panic attacks, physical symptoms of feeling as though you can’t breathe, worrying, and restlessness. With both depression and anxiety, sleep is often disturbed. The inability to sleep only makes both things worse.
Of course, when faced with increased stress or symptoms of anxiety and depression, the first course of action needs to be contacting the appropriate physical or mental health clinician. Prolonged stress impacts our bodies in many ways. Depression and anxiety are signs of imbalances in terms of our mental health
I find that living in the pandemic has caused me, a Christian minister, to draw on my inner Buddhist. To understanding life’s difficulties, Buddhism provides very practical insights. The Noble Truths of Buddhism begin with the statement that the world is full of suffering. Indeed, in this global pandemic, there is suffering in the world. It’s impacting us all. The second noble truth is that suffering is caused by our desire for something different, our attachment to an expectation of the way things should be. We expect that life should return to the way it was before the emergence of COVID 19. That’s not a realistic expectation. Our lives are different now. While vaccines are being distributed, we’ll never recapture what’s been lost. But life will continue to change. Our suffering is caused by expecting life to be a certain way – the way we want it to be. The third noble truth is to give up our expectations, our desires that are the cause of our suffering. That’s truly difficult for us. The fourth noble truth of Buddhism leads us to think and live in a right way, without expectations of how life should be.
I find that my practice of meditation each day helps me to be able to live in the present moment, to let go of stress, and to be better able to roll with life’s events as they happen. In addition, research has shown that a practice of meditation benefits people who live with the symptoms of depression and anxiety. That’s because meditation helps to balance the neurochemicals in our brains, bringing us to a healthy balance in terms of brain chemistry.
Stress, depression, and anxiety are often fueled by circumstances outside of ourselves. But we can diminish the impact of stress, depression, and anxiety by changing the way we think about our life circumstances. Effective changes start by letting go of the way we think our lives should be to accept the realities of our lives today. In that kind of acceptance, we can find positive ways forward that are healthy for us. Included among those healthy steps are reducing our sense of isolation, like increasing communication with family and friends even if that’s virtual communication.
Yes, we live in a difficult time. While we may want to return to the way life was before the pandemic, that’s not realistic. Instead, we can let go of our expectations for things to be different from how it is and embrace the gift of life as we experience it. Spiritual practices like meditation support our ability to live fully.
Photo by Squirmelia on Wunderstock
Related to this week’s posting is the following YouTube video on the physical and mental health benefits of meditation.