COVID-19 Anxieties - 07/31/20

Eric Crosswhite speaks with Dr. Michael Nadorff and Courtney Bolstad of the Mississippi State Psychology Department about the stress people are facing dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric crosswhite: back to sunrise everybody.

We're speaking now with dr. michael nadorff and courtney bolstad from the mississippi state psychology department.

Good morning, guys, thank you both for being here.

Dr. michael nadorff: good morning.

Courtney bolstad: good morning.

Dr. michael nadorff: thanks for having us.

Eric crosswhite: yeah, it's been a rough year so far.

We've talked about that on several occasions.

A lot of people feeling a lot of stress and maybe a lot of pressure, maybe needing somebody to reach out and talk to.

Courtney, what do you want people out there maybe going through that, with that in their minds right now, what do you want them to know?

Courtney bolstad: sure.

There's definitely a lot of stress that people are under currently.

And there are some techniques that they can try at home.

You can try deep breathing techniques, also some progressive muscle relaxation, that involves just tensing certain muscles for a couple of seconds, and then releasing it.

Also practicing self care, doing things that they enjoy.

But if you've tried those things and still have stress or some anxiety, we're more than welcome to help you out with our telehealth services.

Eric crosswhite: what are some indicators that maybe somebody needs to take that next step and actually sit down and have a conversation with somebody?

Courtney bolstad: sure.

If any kind of stress or anxiety is impacting day to day functioning, if you're having trouble getting things done around the house or in your job or at school, any type of impairment like that is definitely at an appropriate time to seek help or if it's just really distressing too.

Eric crosswhite: right.

So if they need to do that, if they need to talk to someone in a clinic, where did they go?

What do they need to do to do that?

Courtney bolstad: sure.

If they'd like to be seen by our clinic they can just give us a call.

Currently, our clinicians are working from home so we would ask that they just leave a voicemail on our confidential voicemail with their name and number, and then a clinician will follow up with them.

Eric crosswhite: all right.

Pretty easy to do.

Dr. nadorff, something else that we're hearing a lot about in the headlines is a mask and that there's just a lot of debate on that.

This seems to be a source of anxiety.

What do you think about that?

What have you noticed with all that's going on?

Dr. michael nadorff: well, i think it's one of those things where, certainly, there's anxiety that comes from it for a lot of people, but it's something that can be overcome and it's something that we can help people work with.

But in general, it's one of those things you have to get used to and the best way to do that is to try to put it on.

If it's causing you anxiety in a place where you're more likely to be relapsed and keep it on until you start feeling less anxious.

The biggest mistake you can make is if you put it on, you feel anxious, and you take it off again, that's actually going to make it more anxiety provoking.

Eric crosswhite: okay.

All right.

Do you feel just the fact that it's maybe a reminder because we've got it on our faces, we feel it, and we see other people wearing it, are those sort of triggers for maybe that are already sort of feeling like they can't handle what's going on?

Dr. michael nadorff: absolutely.

And also for those that deal with some claustrophobia, certainly that plays a role too, but it just takes the getting used to, and now i'm at the point where if i leave the house, i feel weird not having it.

So it's just one of those things you have to get used to.

And once that's swaps, then you do a lot better with it.

Eric crosswhite: what other sort of anxieties are you seeing in this pandemic, some things that may be affecting people in mental way that you'd like to maybe address or bring to the table?

Table?

Dr. michael nadorff: a lot of worry.

A lot of worry about things that are outside of one's control, a lot of weird dreams that also stem from those worries, and the biggest recommendation i have is, if it's something you can't control, try not to worry about it because the worry does you no good.

If you can control it, if it can make a difference, then think about it.

But otherwise, try to let it go.

Eric crosswhite: and something else that you touched on last time that i wanted to talk a little bit more, is that it's okay to be feeling this way because things are different, there's a lot of change going on.

And when that happens, it's okay to act a little different, to be a little different.

Dr. michael nadorff: absolutely.

If you weren't feeling some anxiety or stress at this time, i'd actually worry more about you than if you were sure.

But i think people are so hesitant to reach out right now, and i want you to know, this is actually a good time to reach out.

A lot of people haven't reached out to us because they don't want to do tele-health or they think we're overburdened.

A lot of our aren't, actually, this is one of the best times, the wait- lists are shorter than ever.

So if you're struggling, this is a really good time to see help.