Expert says New Zealand was pivoting from what was originally viewed as health crisis to an economic one. Photo / 123rf
Expert says New Zealand was pivoting from what was originally viewed as health crisis to an economic one. Photo / 123rf
A Kiwi psychologist has launched a new podcast to help New Zealanders develop personal and business resilience during Covid-19.
Jacqui Maguire, Auckland clinical psychologist, said New Zealand was pivoting from what was orginially viewed as health crisis to an economic one.
"We know from the research that unexpected unemployment leads to an increase in mental illness - especially from an anxiety and depression point of view.
"It leads to increased suicidal behaviour in men and increased domestic violence and alcohol use when it is the women in the home who has lost her job," Maguire said.
Her new podcast - dubbed Mind Brew - aims to help prevent that from happening.
In the pilot episode Maguire interviews world acclaimed organisational psychologist Adam Grant to discuss how to come through Covid-19 with post-traumatic growth, the impact of job loss and how to maintain motivation.
She said at the time of the interview she told Grant New Zealand had 16 deaths and he responded by saying he knew 16 people personally who had died from Covid-19.
"That's how different our crisis is from ours, they are experiencing mass grief from mass loss. We are not but we are facing a scary economic crisis."
To give readers a taste of her podcast, Maguire shared five tips to help people manage through economic hardship:
1. Do the basics
There are a number of popularised and effective strategies to foster positive wellbeing. Exercising daily, eating nutritious food, maintaining good sleep hygiene, relaxation and mindfulness, getting into nature. These strategies are your wellbeing foundation, and utilised regularly help will provide you with a good buffer.
2. Retain as much normal as possible
Routine, familiarity and consistency provide a sense of comfort and enable aspects of our regular life to continue. This is important for our mental health, as normal signals safe to our brain. It also helps keep Covid-19 contained, so it is "part of" rather than "all" of our life.
• Get up and go to sleep at your regular time
• "Dress for work"
• Retain your normal household chores : cooking, cleaning, staying on top of the washing
• Keep in contact with family and friends. Facetime them where possible "You don't have to be in the same room as someone to feel connected to them"
3. Plan
Be prepared. Having a well thought out plan supports us to actively cope better in tough moments. It also retains your focus on what's controllable. Plan how you will practically navigate the reintegration into society and how do you want to feel through it.
This may include planning who you want to connect with and how, adapting holiday plans, adjusting to new long-term flexible working arrangements, re strategising how to keep your business afloat in line with new regulations.
Plan activities that boost positive emotion and will help you feel connected, positive, in control and calm through lockdown. Research shows that frequent positive emotion activates our parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation system), boosts our immune system and expand our thinking.
During uncertain times our thoughts can become negative and frequent. It's important to hold the big picture and balance our thinking. For example, "we are continuing to keep physical distance to protect the health of our nation'; "this will end soon and I know I can get through it"; "the economy will recover in time". If constant worry is a particular challenge for you, it can help to schedule daily worry time. Noting your worries as they pop into your thoughts is also an effective strategy. If you have "worst case scenario" or "catastrophic thinking", it can be useful to focus on one moment at a time, "I'm just going to focus on getting through the afternoon".
5. Boundary media use (regular and social)
Being informed can help people feel calmer and more prepared. Being too informed, or consumed, can lead to overwhelm and distress. Be consciously aware of the quantity of Covid-19 information you are tuning in to. It can be helpful to set up routines around this "I am going to watch the 1pm daily update and the six o'clock news only." Putting limits on household conversations is also important.
For people dealing with job loss, Maguire offers five tips:
1. Separate unexpected job loss from your personal worthiness.
If you are able to preserve a positive self-evaluation, this will enable you to hold onto your value and look more optimistically at the future. For example, having the belief "I lost my job because Covid-19 caused a global recession" rather than "I lost my job because I was not valued or good enough"
2. Prioritise connecting with people who are supportive.
We know that social connection is critical for wellbeing, especially when you are feeling vulnerable. Hopefully your bubble is understanding, as blame and shame can lead to withdrawal, demotivation, anger, low mood and anxiety. If this is not the case, do what is within your control to virtually connect with people that are inclusive and caring.
We also know that participating in group activities and contributing to your community is associated with enhanced mental health. This of course poses a challenge with current physical distancing regulations. Do you best to engage in online gatherings, and brainstorm how you might be able to give to those in your community (volunteering at the pharmacy, delivering parcels to the vulnerable, creating a magnificent teddy bear window display to bring cheer to local kids etc)
When we are able to accurately label our feelings (e.g. grief, disappointment, anger, worry, shame), this helps us reduce our emotional intensity and increase our higher order cognitive functioning (problem solving, planning, balancing unhelpful thoughts etc).
4. Hold realistic hope of re-employment.
Realistic optimism is characterised by believing that your unexpected job loss was not personal or infinite, and that employment opportunities will reoccur in the future. This style of thinking helps transition into problem solving and planning efforts, which are linked to higher success rates (e.g. landing a new job).
5. Asking for help when you need it.
Reaching out can feel difficult for many reasons. You may not want to be a burden on others, feel that other people's hardship is more significant than your, or maybe you want avoid feelings of shame. It's important to remember we are in this together and there is no judgement in calling on support.
