How to Seek Therapy During Social Distancing and COVID-19: Telehealth Services for Anxiety and Stress Management

by Annabelle Parr

Within just the last week, most of us have gone from living our lives as usual to an entirely new pace of life and day to day routine: working from home, homeschooling cooped up kids, adhering to social distancing guidelines to keep ourselves and our communities safe and healthy, etc. As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together (yet apart), we are faced with a number of unique stressors in addition to the ones that we might already have been managing, and this may mean that we are experiencing increased anxiety.

Anxiety and fear are specifically designed to help us prepare for and respond to threats.

As Dr. Jill Stoddard put it in her new book, Be Mighty: A Woman’s Guide to Liberation from Anxiety, Worry, & Stress Using Mindfulness and Acceptance, “by simple definition, anxiety is a state of future-focused readiness to deal with potential unpleasant events; this is related to but different from fear, which is a more acute reaction to an in-the-moment perceived threat (Barlow, 2002).” It makes sense that many of us would be experiencing both anxiety – as we are grappling with an enormous amount of uncertainty regarding the future health and financial stability of our nation and our families – and fear, as we are facing an immediate threat to our individual and collective wellbeing.

Feeling anxious right now makes sense. Be gentle with yourself.

One important piece of self-care during this time is to recognize and honor our feelings. Anxiety has a purpose: it is specifically designed to motivate us to prepare to manage threats. It makes sense to feel anxious and afraid. A certain amount of anxiety and fear are adaptive in this situation; they are here to remind us that something is amiss. And stress can help us to adjust our behavior in response. As Kelly McGonigal (2013) pointed out, stress releases a combination of adrenaline and oxytocin, which are hormones designed to prepare us for action and to prompt us to connect, increase empathy, and seek and give care to others. All of these feelings are evolutionary responses designed to kick in in moments like this. So as always, responding to our emotions with self-compassion is crucial.

How do I know if my anxiety has gone too far?

If you are finding that the anxiety and stress you are experiencing during this time are impacting your ability to function – that is, if these feelings are negatively impacting your relationships, your sleep patterns (e.g. causing insomnia or impairing your ability to fall or stay asleep), your ability to attend to tasks needed to care for yourself or your family, or you are finding these feelings overwhelming and are unsure how to cope with them – support is available.  

Can I still seek therapy with social distancing requirements?

Despite the fact that we are required to maintain distance from each other and stay in our homes (except for essential work and errands or a walk/run/bike ride outside maintaining 6 feet between ourselves and others) it is important to know that you can still seek and receive therapy amidst COVID-19. Many therapists, including those here at The Center for Stress and Anxiety Management, have shifted to utilizing telehealth in order to both adhere to COVID-19 guidelines and still attend to patients’ mental health needs. Telehealth sessions expand access to care, as they allow therapists to work with anyone living in the state in which they are licensed (CSAM therapists are available to work with anyone in California). Also important to note is that studies have shown therapy via videoconference to be as effective as in person therapy. It is crucial that those who need support during this time are able to access quality care they need, and telehealth allows mental health providers to ensure it is available.

CSAM IS HERE TO HELP

If you or someone you love needs support and might benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for anxiety, panic, phobias, stress, PTSD, OCD, insomnia, or stress related to COVID-19, or if you would like more information about our telehealth services, please contact us at (858) 354-4077 or at info@csamsandiego.com