The human mind is powerful! There are millions of Americans who suffer from some form of mental illness. The COVID-19 pandemic is making life very difficult for people with mental illness.
There are all kinds of medically recognized mental illnesses. This article will only focus on anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorder is a condition in which the human body reacts to stress abnormally. Humans experience stressors every day. There are job stress, family stress, financial stress, religious stress, marital stress, parental stress, and many more stressors. Stress is like a hammer hitting your body. If left untreated, it can cause death. How your body reacts to these stressors is critical to your overall health.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, stressors are added that affect the lives of millions of Americans. I will list some of them, but there are many more.
The threat of illness and death. The threat of losing a high paying job. The threat of loved ones getting sick and dying. The uncertainty of the future. The threat that the economy will collapse and you will lose your retirement. The threat of running out of essential supplies for your family. The threat of famine or not having enough food to eat. The threat of homelessness. The threat of isolation from family and loved ones. The threat of being judged negatively by society if you test positive for COVID-19. The stress of homeschooling children while also working. The stress of childcare when there are no daycare centers open. The stress of paying your staff or keeping your small business open. The stress of paying bills.
Let’s be honest, these stressors are enough to send any human into the condition called anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorder in its simplest form is that your body reacts negatively to stress. It is much like a fight or flight response to stress. A person’s brain can literally only take a limited amount before it causes a mental breakdown.
According to Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx (Trumps Covid-19 Task Force Chair), the following are the top three signs that a person may have contracted the COVID-19 virus:
1. Fever
2. Dry cough
3. Difficulty breathing
They have since learned that every patient is different. Many patients may experience fatigue, chills, muscle aches, redness around the eyes, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and severe abdominal pain.
Some patients are asymptomatic and carry COVID-19 but have no symptoms.
As a result of these common symptoms and asymptomatic carriers, it is difficult to say that all patients have the COVID-19 virus without getting tested. People are told to assume that everyone has the virus because symptoms are so common.
Anxiety disorder manifests itself in the body in many similar ways. It is not uncommon for a patient under extreme stress to have the following symptoms:
1. Muscle aches
2. Headache
3. Nausea
4. Fatigue
5. Weakened immune system causing fever.
6. Diarrhea
7. Difficulty breathing
8. Chest tightness
9. Muscle weakness in legs and arms.
10. Disorientation
11. Outbursts of anger and frustration
A person may believe that they have contracted COVID-19, when in fact they are suffering from a severe anxiety disorder.
The first thing to do is make an appointment with your doctor and get medical advice. Other steps you can take include eliminating all social media and media from your life, exercising regularly, staying away from caffeine, and getting enough sleep. There are also recipes that your doctor can prescribe that are not addictive but will help calm your body and reduce your anxiety.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, the most important thing you can do is pray. Ask Jesus to help you with your anxiety and give you grace to live with it.
For the follower of Jesus Christ, they are never alone. God is always with them and works for their good. He is your source of strength and will give you the grace to overcome anxiety disorder. Jesus cares about every detail of their lives, especially anxiety disorder. He will help you in your time of need.
COVID-19 and anxiety disorder are very real threats and with government shutdowns, job layoffs and illness, those with mental illness are struggling. I am hopeful that this article will give the reader the peace of mind of knowing that they will tell the difference between the virus and anxiety and will not panic if they start to develop symptoms.