Early levels of distress diminished to some extent over subsequent months while levels of wellbeing were comparable with usual norms, suggesting a largely resilient response. Previous studies of community-wide disasters suggested people are fairly resilient and identified resources and strategies that promote that resilience. In high-stress environments marked by economic and emotional precarity, such as those intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, spiritual engagement may serve to complement or compensate for deficits in other domains of coping. At the same time, interventions targeting individuals who are emotionally withdrawn or cognitively self-sufficient should incorporate affective and interpersonal dimensions, fostering greater openness to emotional expression and external support systems (Chew et al., 2020). Integrating religious coping into therapeutic frameworks through faith-informed counseling, spiritually grounded cognitive reframing, or community-based pastoral support, may enhance the cultural congruence and psychological effectiveness of interventions for individuals aligned with spiritually engaged profiles (Asif et al., 2024; Kroesbergen-Kamps, 2024). From a practical standpoint, these findings offer important implications for culturally sensitive mental health interventions in Colombia, a context characterized by high religiosity and socioeconomic vulnerability (Sánchez-Fuentes et al., 2018).
First, we’re encouraging the communities we work with to provide information to people that explains what they’re likely to go through. They’re discovering that they have similar thoughts and feelings about their own oppression and the oppression of others, so it’s been a pivotal moment for many NEJM article on mental health challenges people. Also, part of the response to the dark side of re-experiencing feelings of oppression, subjugation, and not having a voice is that people are finding their voices again and coming together. They feel more connection with people who’ve been oppressed. But it’s also opening up people to a greater sense of compassion, too.
This study has several limitations including a reliance on self-report measures; a cross-sectional design with data collected early in the pandemic such that we could not observe changes over time in stress, coping patterns or symptoms; use of on-line platforms to collect data rapidly (Cheung et al., 2017); and that the two samples combined here used different measures of depression and anxiety symptoms. In the context of high and persistent cumulative stress levels, typically-maladaptive coping pattens such as disengagement may not add to the strong negative effects of stressors on mental health, and may actually be functionally adaptive in the short term (Amirkhan, 2020; Wadsworth, 2015). In other words, coping strategies that are best suited to uncontrollable stressors were particularly beneficial for the mental health of participants who identify as Black.
- For self-efficacy (GSE), similar results as for social anxiety were observed (Fig. 2c).
- Statistically significant higher percentages of moderate and severe stress levels were observed among females, nonmedical students, rural inhabitants, and low-socioeconomic-status students (p 1).
- Significant changes in stress and life satisfaction were found during the pandemic in various longitudinal studies 32,33,34,35,36.
- More than one year into the pandemic, how are you coping?
- In addition, females displayed different coping behaviors in response to stress 20, 21.
Mental health was measured with the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4), a validated instrument for anxiety and depression 21, 22. Situational coping refers to how individuals adapt their coping behaviors in response to momentary or contextual stressors —captured in the model as time-varying deviations from their typical patterns. Building upon this integrative framework, the present study models coping as both a within-person (situational) and a between-person (habitual process). This distinction is grounded in Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping, which views coping as a dynamic process that unfolds in response to person-environment interactions.
Main analysis
Not only is it natural to be concerned about physical illness, but the uncertainty about a spreading virus can increase your stress level as well. If you have been noticing these symptoms since you learned about the Coronavirus, it is possible that you may be experiencing a normal stress response. It’s common to miss the signs of stress early on, preventing your ability to handle them before they grow.
Analysis
In the same study, participants who reported using fewer acceptance skills also endorsed more self-blame and increased catastrophizing. Relatedly, an interview study of American nurses caring for COVID-19 patients revealed that accepting uncertainty in their roles diminished their anxiety and strengthened patient care (White, 2021). Kim et al. (2022b), for example, reported that exercise predicted significant decreases in depressive symptoms when compared with other behavioral activation tasks (i.e., meditation, relaxation, socializing with family) while potentially relevant variables were controlled statistically (e.g., age, substance use).
Luckily, there are tools and resources that help you learn to process anxiety with wisdom. Like an inflated beach ball held underneath the water that is suddenly let loose, anxiety can explode to our mind’s main stage from seemingly out of nowhere. Ideally, we want to identify our anxiety snowball while it is still small and forming, but we cannot always catch the bullet before it takes off. COVID-19 is a fast-moving, ever-shifting precipitant of anxiety that can send us spiraling quickly. Authors wish to thank Dr Maju Mathew Koola, USA; Dr Subas Pradhan, Dubai; Dr Susmit Roy, UK and Asmita Sharma, Nepal for support related to data collection; Quality of Life Research and Development Foundation (QoLReF) and The Institute of Insight, UK.
