Feeling stressed? Me too. Life is stressful at the best of times, and the past year has especially trying thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic. There has been very little good news over the last year and even with the vaccines around the corner “going back to normal” sounds more like a fantasy with each passing second. Not getting to see loved ones takes a toll. So does not being able to go literally anywhere. Living alone is isolating, and if you live with loved ones, it might just feel like a pressure-cooker of stress and tension as you all snap at each other for really trivial reasons.
If you are like me, you have probably tried what feels like a billion things to cope. Personally, I have tried going to bed earlier (lasted one day) and turning off the news or limiting screen time (didn’t help much). Not to make you stressed about your stress, but it is associated with the following health problems:
-depression
-diabetes
-anxiety
-increased blood pressure
Our increase in work stress as a result of COVID does have some negative health implications. Don’t fear though, because if you’re stressed about feeling stressed like me, science might be able to help us. Don’t worry, this won’t take too much time out of your workday! (I was worried about that too; we’ve all got a mountain of things to do right now).
Hear me out
on this because it sounds a little bit silly at first. Practising mindfulness,
which is a state of complete attention to the present moment in a way that
is open and free of judgment, has been repeatedly shown to decrease
stress. It makes us better at regulating our emotions, re-appraising our
situation and coping, with these skills improving the longer we practice. This, of course, is easier said than done. I
find it much harder to be mindful when there are 10,000 things to do and my dog
is barking in the background, especially since this is new to me.
Don’t fear,
though. A study of 238 adults in the UK showed that achieving mindfulness might
be as easy as downloading an app on your smartphone and participating in a ten-to-twenty-minute
guided meditation. These adults meditated at a time of their choosing once a
day for forty-five days. They progressed chronologically through the
mindfulness meditations on the app Headspace and learned first how to be
attentive to the present moment, before learning how to treat their
thoughts and emotions with curiosity, openness, and acceptance. The
meditation sessions gradually became longer, with more and more allotted time
for unguided work.
Not all
participants continually used the app, but those who did showed significant improvements in the following areas:
2). positive emotions
3). symptoms of anxiety and depression
4). workplace social support
5). prosocial behaviour
These things were reported daily in mood diaries. However, for those of us stuck at home, it is hard to say whether we would experience the same increases workplace social support - it would have to come virtually. With this said, the prosocial behaviour increases found participants increasingly compassionate and gentle with their colleagues. This might apply to us in dealing with our families.
These gains
were sustained after two months, and the longer they used the app, the more
they kept improving (Bostock et al., 2019).
I feel like
it might be appropriate to say at this time that the Rorshack Blog is not
sponsored by Headspace, and neither am I. However, this article was enough to
make me want to download the app. If science hasn’t convinced you, perhaps a
personal anecdote will – mindfulness meditation has made a difference in my
stress level, and Headspace has helped me become more mindful. Personally, I
find the narration really soothing and the guided meditations helpful – I am
actually able to achieve a state of mindfulness.
Since I started meditating, I have been less likely to snap at my family, less anxious, more grounded, more productive, and it has been easier to fall asleep. Headspace is free, though unfortunately, you do have to pay to get to access everything the app has to offer. While I recommend paying, they also have a YouTube channel that might be worth checking out before you make your investment. If Costco taught us anything, it’s that it is always good to sample before you buy. Though, unfortunately, those delicious Costco samples are yet another thing COVID has taken away from us.
Also, if
you don’t like headspace, there are plenty of other mindfulness-based apps. Sattva
Mind is one that I have been using, and while it is completely free, it does
not have any empirical backing. I like it, though, if the anecdote is enough to
persuade you. There are also loads of mindfulness-based meditations
on YouTube. The Goodful channel has some that I have found helpful, though
again, unfortunately, all the support I can provide for it is anecdotal.
If you’re still skeptical, that’s okay. A healthy level of skepticism is good when consuming research, and in life generally. However, it can’t hurt to try. No harm can come to you from closing this tab, opening a new one, and looking for the Headspace YouTube channel. I've even linked it below if you don't want to search. If you’ve read this far you might as well give it a shot. Plus, if you have your Smartphone on hand, the paid version of the app does have a free trial that you can cancel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3JhfsgFPLSLNEROQCdj-GQ
References:
Bostock, S., Crosswell, A. D., Prather, A. A., &
Steptoe, A. (2019). Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation
app on work stress and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, 24(1), 127-138.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/10.1037/ocp0000118
Kniffin, K. M., Narayanan, J., Anseel, F., Antonakis, J.,
Ashford, S. P., Bakker, A. B., & Vugt, M. (2021). COVID-19 and the
workplace: Implications, issues, and insights for future research and action. American
Psychologist, 76(1), 63-77.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/10.1037/amp0000716
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