OSU Extension offers tips and techniques to deal with coronavirus lockdown stress
LANCASTER - Life has been anything but normal the past several weeks as people stay in their homes under Gov. Mike DeWine's shelter-in-place order while the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Some may find the lockdown easier to deal with than others as the weeks go by and pressure mounts.
"We have several mental health experts telling us the signs to look for in ourselves, our children and other loved ones as this continues," Ohio State University Extension Office educator for family and consumer sciences Shannon Carter said. "I think some people have found a good pattern and rhythm and some maybe are still struggling and. Of course, that depends on their circumstances and environment quite a bit."
Carter, who works OSU's Lancaster office, said some signs to watch for in children include reverting back to behaviors they had previously outgrown, like tantrums, bed wetting or toilet accidents.
For both children and adults, she said lockdown stress can lead to excessive worry or sadness, changing in eating and sleeping habits and irritability.
"Kids take their cues from parents," Carter said. "So if we can manage our stress and keep ourselves in kind of a balanced look on this, I think that can help our kids."
There are ways to deal with the stress and pressure the stay-at-home order causes. That includes getting the proper rest, exercise and nutrition. They are all parts of a concept called mindfulness.
"You're tuned in," Carter said. "You're experiencing what's in the moment. And what that does is give your mind a break from regret from the past or worrying about the future. You're just right here in the present moment."
Mindfulness also includes using breathing exercises, focusing on gratitude, using some meditation practices and spending quality time with loved ones.
"The opposite of mindfulness is going through life on autopilot," Carter said. "You're checked out and you're going through the motions, but you're not really here. That can lead to strained relationships."
She also said people should avoid mindless eating, which is the opposite of mindful eating.
"You polish off a meal or bag of chips in front of the TV and have no memory of what you did or what you ate," Carter said.
She said using mindfulness techniques, like proper breathing, need only take a short time.
"Breathing is huge," Carter said. "You hear about this all the time, but it's so true. If we can slow down our breathing and slow down our heart rate, it's the one bio marker that we have an impact on. By slowing down our breathing we can slow down some of our body systems and get things under control."
She said the first step in slowing down breathing is to take a long, slow exhale to remove all the air from the lungs. That allows for a bigger inhale.
"And if you do three to five breath cycles like that you can immediately start to feel your heart rate slow down and your mind slow down a little bit," Carter said.
Another technique deals with concentrating on some of the senses of body.
"What do you see, what do you hear and what do you feel?" Carter said. "Take 20 second or 30 seconds and just look around. You notice things about your environment that maybe you've missed before. You're noticing some details using your eyes, and you do this quietly.
"Then you move to what you hear, and you might close your eyes for that part of it. The same thing with feel. It might be a texture or a temperature, a table or your sweater or something. What that does is help your mind focus on the here and now."
Carter said there is nothing wrong with people putting an emphasis on themselves during the lockdown.
"If we don't take care of ourselves we're not much good to our employers or our families or friends," she said. "This is also an opportunity to bring out the best in us where we can take care of ourselves and family, but how can we reach out to help take care of others, as well?"
OSU Extension has information about mindfulness on its website at www.extension.osu.edu/home. Once there, search "mindfulness" to access the information.