Two years into the pandemic have brought unexpected psychological repercussions for most people, creating a bigger awareness on mental health. Fear for the disease, fear for our loved ones, isolation and the feeling of unknown are only a few triggers with a huge impact on people’s psychological state, making them realize that mental health issues affect and concern everyone.
“All of us suffered trauma during COVID. Some of us dealt with it earlier, some of us dealt with it later and somebody are still dealing with it, but nobody escapes it…We can compartmentalize our emotions for only a short period of time, but no one escapes the trauma of combat. You may not experience the trauma while you are in it, you may experience it months later,” said leadership expert, Simon Sinek, in a virtual TED talk focusing on the matter.
This difficult time laid the ground for business leaders to show their leadership by showing how humanity matters. According to Sinek, leadership is the responsibility to take care of those around us and see them rise.
We don’t need a global pandemic to do that. This is called good leadership and we should be doing this all the time. And we should be encouraging those in our charge to do the same for those in their charge,
…he stressed.
What are some of the COVID trauma symptoms?
- Falling out of the sleep pattern; sleep late for no reason and do now want to get up in the morning;
- Having unproductive days pretty regularly and finding excuses on it;
- Becoming antisocial and not asking for help
What can we do?
Be aware: The first thing we should do is to have in mind that this may affect us at some point and be prepared.
Understand and accept your feelings: It’s acceptable to worry and be anxious about you and your loved ones. Fully accepting how you feel, will help you cope with the “negative” feeling and realize that there are some things that you can control and some that you don’t.
Reach out to others for help: Calling your people and letting them know how you feel is healing and helps build a psychological safety space. This is why it is important for people to build trusting relationships before the crisis hits.
Be there for others: The most healing thing we can do to help ourselves in a difficult period like this is to help someone else with the same struggles.
If we need someone to cry with, it is to offer the shoulder for somebody else to cry with. If we are feeling lonely, it is to be there for someone who is struggling for loneliness,
…he said.
“Whether you volunteer with a local homeless shelter or simply support a friend in their own time of need, you can garner a sense of purpose, foster self-worth, connect with other people, and tangibly help others, all of which can empower you to grow in resilience,” the American Psychological Association advises.
Try statements instead of questions: Making statements, Mr. Sinek noted, is working better for showing our interest than asking questions: Instead of saying “How are you doing”, just say “Something is wrong” or “I am worried about you”. This leaves very little room for someone to divert the conversation.
“And most importantly, don’t show up to solve the problem, especially when you start having a difficult conversation. You show up to create an environment in which they will be willing to show up to you.”
How can we discover our “Why”?
For this question to be answered, Mr. Sinek proposed a small exercise:
- Find a close friend who you love and loves you. Do not do this with a sibling, spouse or parent because these relationships are too close.
- Ask them a simple question: “Why are we friends?” They are going to look at you like crazy because you are asking them to put a feeling into words and put what exists to the limbic brain into language.
- They are going to say “I don’t know”, which is not completely true; the thing is that they cannot put it into words.
- Eventually, you stop asking “Why” and start asking “What”, because this is a rational question: “What is it about me that I know that you would be there for me no matter what?” They will not know how to answer; they will probably start describing good things about you, such as “You have always been there for me”.
- Then you play the devil’s advocate: “Yes sure, this is the definition of a friend, but what is it specifically about ME that I know you will be there no matter what?”
- After a while, they will give up and start describing themselves.
- Then, they will articulate the value you have in their life and you will have some sort of emotional response, because what they are telling you is your “Why”.
“You can do this with multiple friends, and they will say almost exactly if not the exact same thing, because this is your “Why”, the thing you give to the world. It may not give you the exact language, but it will put you squarely in the ballpark for what your “Why” is, he explained.
