CU psychology professors share tools to improve mental health amid 新型冠状病毒肺炎.
As the world plunged into the 新型冠状病毒肺炎 pandemic in early 2020, Sona Dimidjian knew a parallel and more silent crisis was brewing in mental health.
Dimidjian, 博彩平台推荐心理学教授, immediately saw a trifecta of trouble: 新型冠状病毒肺炎 disrupted our basic daily routines, 颠覆了社交，带来了大量的不确定性.
“People were challenged to navigate each of those issues right from the get-go, 博彩平台推荐知道它们导致了更多的抑郁, 焦虑, 药物滥用, 家庭暴力 ... 一大堆的问题,迪米吉安说, 也是仁杰皇冠健康研究所的主任, which focuses on research and programs to develop healthy young adults.
统计数据支持她的说法. A 2020年9月 科罗拉多健康基金会的一项调查 found 53% of Coloradans reported 焦虑, 与新型冠状病毒肺炎相关的孤独或压力.
迪米吉安和她在科罗拉多大学的同事说，原因很简单, 基于研究的策略可以提供缓解.
“好的科学是博彩平台推荐的向导, and my team has been doing research on how to treat and prevent these issues for the last 20 years,迪米吉安说. “The good news is that the lessons learned are very relevant to the challenges we face today.”
行为激活
第一种应对策略, 叫做行为激活, is based on the idea that you can change how you feel by changing what you do. Studies have shown it can sometimes quell depression just as well as medication. That’s why Dimidjian also calls BA “behavioral antidepressants.”
“We know that being involved in activities that give us a sense of accomplishment, 享受和控制是积极情绪的关键,”她说。.
BA invites people to research the connection between their daily habits and moods: Which activities are draining? 哪些能增加快乐、享受或掌控感? BA participants then add at least one pleasurable and one mastery activity to their schedule every day to make them a normal part of their lives.
Dimidjian is seeing BA work — even without the aid of mental health professionals — in research at the Crown Institute, where new and expectant women suffering from perinatal depression help each other apply BA skills.
艾琳·伍德, 研究参与者，两个孩子的母亲，来自弗兰克敦, 科罗拉多州, said she found BA helpful not only during and after pregnancy, 而且随着大流行的展开.
“Even though I didn’t have to take a shower or get dressed, it was important to feel like I was accomplishing something,伍德说.
确认
The second coping tool is to acknowledge how the pandemic is disrupting your life.
“为失去的经历感到悲伤是正常的, to feel uncertain about the future and to be angry about the state of the world,罗莎琳德·凯泽说, assistant professor in CU’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. 这些情绪不会让博彩平台推荐变得软弱、有缺陷或无能为力. Understand that stress — even coronavirus-related stress — can be an opportunity for new growth.”
6月格鲁伯, director of CU’s Positive Emotion and Psychopathology Lab, 说到消极情绪——恐惧, 愤怒或悲伤——都是正常的.
“Instead of suppressing or criticizing yourself for those 情绪, accepting them as being valid may stave off spiraling into more clinically significant symptoms of depression or 焦虑,格鲁伯说.
凯撒建议，在承认自己的情绪之后, you can reflect on and list the issues affecting your 情绪 and thoughts.
然后, inventory your best coping strategies and responses to stress: “Think about what’s worked well for you in the past and why it was successful,凯泽说.
Next, brainstorm how you might adjust your coping strategies to the pandemic. If exercise helps but your gym is closed, see if you can find a workout online.
最后，把它当作一个实验. “You’re testing new ways of building wellness,凯泽说. “有些人会比其他人工作得更好.”
正念
Dimidjian said a third tool, mindfulness, is a way to stay grounded in the present moment. “正念 helps us become aware of our thinking patterns and reorients us toward the present,”她说。. “And that frees us from that sense of dread about the future.”
变得更专注, Dimidjian suggests taking a few minutes each day to notice your breath, sensations in your body and any anxious or upsetting thoughts. Learning to pay attention to what you’re doing — whether it’s eating, walking or listening to music — and noticing when your attention wanes is what makes a mindful life, 她说.
Kaiser added that even though the pandemic has led to “a profound disruption” to daily life and routines, 人类可以学会应对.
“You may find that you discover new resilience-boosting skills that serve you not only during the pandemic but for years to come,”她说。.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, 与自杀预防生命线的代表聊天. 请拨打911或去最近的急诊室.
插图:Brian Stauffer
更新于2021年4月21日. A previous version of this story reported that 77% of Coloradans reported 焦虑, 与新型冠状病毒肺炎相关的孤独或压力.
