The number of people that has been infected by and succumbed to this virus is sobering. The tentacles of this pandemic has reached more people and in more ways than you can even imagine. The difficult reality is that the effect will endure much longer than the virus itself. The enduring effect is the Mental Effect.
When there is a sudden life change or stressful event, there is an Adjustment Period. Adjustments can be physical, mental, emotional and/or environmental.
There are several phases to the Adjustment Period. First the Honeymoon phase, where everything seems new and fun (you remember that part) and then if adaptability and resiliency sources are low, feelings of stress, sadness, hopelessness, anxiousness and uncertainty, can emerge. This is the Trauma Response.
Not everyone will suffer with a mental illness after a stressful or traumatic event, but everyone will experience a range of emotions, reactions and responses to the event. These reactions/responses can be short term and are resolved naturally or become chronic and persist even after the event is over.
For every person that has lost income, suffered hardships, gotten sick, and passed on, as a result of COVID-19, there are a web of people who are and will also be affected.
Being indirectly affected can have as much of an impact or even more so than actually experiencing a traumatic event. This is called a Vicarious Trauma.
For example, after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, many people experienced a trauma response despite not having been in NYC, or New Orleans, respectively. They witnessed the events on television, or had friends/family directly affected. This is how contagious Mental Health, Mental Wellness or the Mental Effect of a trauma can be.
So how do we approach the Mental Effect of Trauma?
This question highlights the importance of continuously working on building your mental resources, implementing self-care routines, and paying attention to your mental wellness. Protecting yourself from the traumas of life; the failures, the injuries, and the disappointments, is a process.
A process similar to how you would build strength in the muscles and knowledge in the brain, the mind must also be conditioned for life.
Life is the greatest stage, Living is the greatest performance.
Maybe you haven't been conditioning your mind. So what can you do NOW?
Finding yourself in a situation where you are not sure if you are ok, or are pretending to be ok, can be difficult. A good first step would be to take a moment to evaluate your Self-Sustainability. This might sound complicated, but this High Performance Strategy is essentially observing and reflecting on the things that make you feel good.
This is an example of a strategy that high performers use as their front-line defense when competing against the Trauma Response or Mental Effect that can occur when faced with a stressful situation.
Want to learn more High Performance Strategies?
Join the 'Mental Sustainability' webinar, which will explore a High Performance Tool-Kit of strategies that can be used to help navigate life Post-COVID. It will include a step by step approach to building Mental Sustainability and handling stressful or pressurized situations like a High Performer.
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