How does one make resolutions for 2021, after 2020?
I vow to wear pants — not pajama bottoms? I resolve to not drink during Zoom meetings?
For a rare few, this year was inconvenient, a little stressful, but overall, OK.
For most of us, it was a shitshow from start to finish that left us with no end of bad habits — from drinking too much to overeating a Sumo wrestler would be proud of.
[We have a policy of not using swear words unless it is the best way to show the gravity of a situation. We think it fits at the end of 2020.]
For one of the first times in our lifetimes, we are all dealing with collective stress, anxiety, and trauma.
Stress is not necessarily always a bad thing, after all, it keeps us aware of risks and encourages us to mitigate them — wear a mask, don’t gather in groups.
But the feelings of loss of control, fear over becoming sick, watching our loved ones get sick and the isolation of COVID-19 restrictions can create extreme stress, trauma, and even PTSD.
We know this is happening. A Statistics Canada survey after the pandemic began found that almost one-quarter of participants were experiencing fair or poor mental health.
Close to 90% of participants in the survey experienced at least one symptom of anxiety.
The collectiveness of this experience harkens back to the collective experiences of past wars, the Depression, and past epidemics, like Polio.
What is different is we now have social media, a 24-hour news cycle, and global lockdowns, according to the writings of psychologist Kathleen Kendall-Tackett.
We won’t know the full impact of social restrictions and exposure to suffering and fear, to so much information — and misinformation, especially on social media — for some time.
At least, compared with many collective disasters of the past, now we are more aware of mental health issues and can access treatment.
One simple thing that pops up repeatedly in studies is that while social media can be a valuable tool to share information quickly about a health crisis, too much social media exposure increases anxiety and isn’t that helpful in terms of health outcomes.
After the rise of the Zika virus in 2016, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study, for example, found that those who read more about the virus on social media had an increased perception of risk.
But when they read more about it in traditional media, they were more likely to engage in protective behaviours.
More exposure to social media coverage of COVID-19 by Chinese adults in Wuhan, where the virus first surged, was related to more anxiety, and depression, according to the study by researchers at Pennsylvania State University and Jinan University in Guangzhou.
So, if you are finding your heart starts pounding while scrolling, are having health-related nightmares or panic attacks, or just feeling more anxious while on these apps, it may be time to limit time on social media.
In fact, it could be a perfect 2021 resolution.
