In early 2019, I was assigned several innovative projects because of technical, educational and administrative “troubleshooting” abilities. I was happy with what I considered as a promotion, embracing additional responsibilities to a mildly busy orthopedic practice and academic duties. The projects entailed mostly online work, with few face to face meetings as needed.
Inspite of my supposedly “stress-proof” lifestyle, stress began creeping in early January of 2020. I was trying out some “stress mitigation tactics” when this pandemic happened.
Stress, is at a unprecedented level.
My adult life was about balancing the pursuit of dreams, self care and positive contributions to society. Many medical professionals eat stress for breakfast and most survive, unscathed. We’re “stress-proof” so to speak. We’re confidently resilient, agile and unbending to “pressures” . When COVID-19 pandemic came, I’m confident about surviving stress. One year after and though I’m alive and coping, I’m still trying out new things to stress proof my life inside a bubble.
I’m having a hard time “managing” this unprecedented level of stress.
Here’s the deal. I am very much interested in how you, a medical professional, is coping with this pandemic induced stress. I’m an action guy and I like knowing details or specifics of your coping mechanisms. Verb, I repeat specifics and the context of its application. Yes, you may include all those memes, tiktoks, food galore, plants and what nots. Just have the “decency” to spell out if and when these whatever, helped you cope with stress. What metrics did you use. Yes, let’s be scientific- evidenced based coping mechanisms measured by. This will be our tweet chat topic later 9PM manila time. Game?
T1. How did pandemic-induced stress got you?
The first step in coping with stress is knowing or accepting you are stressed. I has had sleepless, anxious nights thinking I got COVID after inadvertently bumping one sneezing person. There were times I had to wake up, read online messages for fear of missing out some important news. I easily flare up when people disregard health protocols. I had eating binges and didn’t exercise. I get angry when people don’t follow procedures or are offering excuses . I lost that “what-if-you’re-in-this person-shoes” empathic mind battle completely. I am on a self preserving mode. When I argued with a family member over some trivial stuff, I called up a friend for help. I was breathing stress and I needed help.
T2. How did you cope with pandemic induced stress?
Accepting everyone’s in the same stress boat as I am, I started looking for “positives”, a way out, an opportunity to act rather than blame. I was letting go of things or actions that is beyond my influence. Watched less TV, social media fasted and tried a phone-less existence as often as I could. I focused on plants, food then some healthy routines. Pre COVID I had this weekly, daily routine of exercise, creative and challenging pursuits, journalling. When COVID came, all that is left is journalling thoughts, because all the actions were severely limited. I struggled much adapting my exercise, exploring and discovering routines. Am still am. Refocusing is hardest, particularly with greying of the work and personal time with a work from home arrangement. Rereading stoic literature was helpful in this. Then there is this social media hiatus. I often turn off my phone, lock it inside drawer so people could not call me at night. One of I think the best coping I learned this pandemic is being grateful. Even with the smallest of things or failures that made me a better person.
T3. How did you know your coping mechanism is effective?
First, I slowly regained some restful sleep at night then wake up early in the morning to exercise. I’ve learned to reply to essential messages at day time. There’s this seemingly relaxed and unperturbed attitude at the breakfast table or a leisurely coffee while trimming plants. I could also now walk away from whatever I work from without guilt, accepting everyone’s is entitled to some reprieved in this pandemic. I’m still working on my stingy often cold, stoic demeanour about so many things. I’m still whinny as hell, but I laugh, or give self demeaning jokes about more often. I’m still a work in progress and hopefully, this tweet chat will give me ideas on how to have breakfast with sarscovid.
Image by KamranAydinov on Freepik
