What is your Pandemic Personality Type?
1. Social Shamer – Characterized by a strong sense of rightness, judgment of others, and a need to act. You observe people walking together down the street in violation of the 6’ distance guideline, or not wearing a mask in public, or using a public park and you immediately feel duty-bound to redress it. You may confront their disobedience on the spot and/or report it on social media as an example to others, a “virtual hand slap” of sorts.
2. Overnight Expert – Staying up to date on all things Covid-19, you believe it’s your responsibility to protect others by reporting data through every means you have at your disposal. You may feel that information is power.
3. Shelter in Place – The goal is risk management at all costs. You haven’t left your house in 6 weeks though you’re not in a medical high-risk category. You don’t take chances. You stockpiled the necessities at the outset and now have everything you need delivered to your door. You follow sanitation guidelines to a T, wiping everything down that comes into your home.
4. Cautiously Prudent - Taking care of what you need to do, whether going in to work as an essential employee, or shopping for groceries, but take all the recommended precautions for face masks, gloves, and hand hygiene. Implementing a practical approach striking balance between careful calculation of risks and the reality of the situation.
5. Business as Usual – You continue to shop, work, recreate, and live as you did before, without heeding precautions. A dismissive style with a perception that this crisis is overblown. You struggle to find empathy for others while meeting personal needs.
6. What Pandemic? – You decided this was a great time to take a vacation because you have time off work and flights are cheap. A “live in the moment” style with the ability to justify actions. I can still have fun, act on my desire, but do it safely.
Chances are you know someone who fits one of the listed categories. More importantly, which category do you fit? Your pandemic personality type says a lot about you.
Pandemics bring technicolor stress and how you cope during stressful times can reveal aspects of your personality. The coping methods you're using now are most likely similar, though amped up, to how you coped with stress in your life before Covid-19.
We develop coping skills over a lifetime as a result of our biology and environment. Starting with family of origin, how your caregivers coped with stress was your first lesson, but you may have learned other strategies over the years, both healthy and unhealthy. Stressors are cumulative; they can mount up and, if not managed in a healthy way, cause emotional and physical damage. It’s like that visual of shaking up a bottle of soda, then unscrewing the cap. It spews out all over everything. Strong emotions like stress must be managed in a healthy way, or they’ll end up being expressed in less beneficial ways. For tips on healthy ways to manage stress, see my blog post-https://axis92.wixsite.com/mysite/post/mental-health-renewal-in-the-midst-of-covid-19 and the suggestions below:
· Be intentional about increasing your awareness of your coping patterns. What do others say regarding your response to stress? Be open to self-examination and accepting feedback from people you trust.
· Set boundaries – Healthy personal boundaries are key to mental well-being. It’s O.K. to say “no”, or at least “let me think about it and I’ll get back to you”. Don’t overcommit; don’t feel guilted into an obligation or like you’re the only one who can get the job done.
· Listen to your body – Notice where you’re holding stress. In your chest, head, hands? What does your body need from you?
· Take care of your body - Get enough sleep each night, eat a balanced diet, drink lots of water, do yoga or another form of movement each day.
· Take time each day to meditate or pray.
· Lean on your support system – It’s tempting to hibernate when feeling overwhelmed. That’s when you need to reach out most.
· Talk to a mental health therapist – If you don’t have one already, or know someone who can refer you to a good one, ask your primary care doctor or dial 211 and ask to be connected to one. Sometimes emotions are so big and deep that you need to work with a professional.
For more information, check out these articles: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-management/art-20044289 and https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855#definition
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