As Arizonans Return to the Office Tips for Reducing Anxiety / Public News Service

As COVID cases decline, many Arizonans are headed back into the office for the first time in more than a year, which can cause serious anxiety.

Therapists teach mindfulness techniques to help people recognize their stressors and deal with them.

Dr. Nika Gueci, executive director of the Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience at Arizona State University in Phoenix, offered suggestions to cope with anxiety.

“So give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling without judging,” Gueci advised. “And then figure out steps that you can take; your own personal tool kit to how you can fill yourself back up whenever you’re depleted.”

If you’re feeling anxious, Gueci recommended taking three deep breaths, unclench your jaw, and drop your shoulders. Long term, you can work on eating better, exercising and getting enough sleep. And she pointed out blaming yourself for feeling uneasy only compounds the suffering.

Dr. Nicole Brady, chief medical officer for United HealthCare employer and individual for Wisconsin and Michigan, said the disruption of our routines is the biggest stress trigger when returning to the office.

“Packing a lunch ahead of time, knowing how we’re going to get kids to and from activities,” Brady emphasized. “But stepping back and doing some advance planning can really alleviate some of that return-to-the-office stress.”

She added mindfulness and relaxation apps can be very helpful in reducing anxiety.

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Social workers are raising awareness about new mobile crisis centers and an Access Point call center now providing 24/7 call, chat or community-based services for Granite Staters facing a mental-health crisis.

New Hampshire’s mental-health services have been seeing workforce shortages in recent years, which has resulted in people in crisis waiting days at the emergency room for a placement.

Becky Parton, project director for the Dartmouth Trauma Interventions Research Center and a member of the National Association of Social Workers, said the new mobile centers, also known as Rapid Response Teams, seek to connect folks directly with care. She said some people may only need a call with a clinician to help de-escalate their situation, while others will still need to go to the emergency room for inpatient care.

“But there are other levels of care that we can provide, which is one of the great things about this,” Parton asserted. “Ultimately the goal is to keep people out of waiting in the emergency room when they don’t have to and being able to serve them in the community.”

The Rapid Response Access Point can be reached at 833-710-6477 or residents can visit nh988.com to chat with trained professionals. Parton noted it is part of a national effort.

New Hampshire’s 10-year mental-health plan put these mobile crisis centers into action, and also expanded mental-health services for children in the state.

Parton hopes the Access Point can be an alternative to calling the police. She pointed out people facing mental health crises are more likely to experience police violence, and police are not always well-trained in de-escalation.

“They may assume criminal intent, versus being able to de-escalate someone and figure out if there’s a mental health reason why they had to be called,” Parton explained. “So the goal would be that, long term, we’ve reduced the need for police assistance unless there was a real safety issue.”

She added groups are providing training to law enforcement to help them improve.

Parton stressed while these Rapid Response Teams are a great addition to available services, many of the community organizations and agencies facilitating them are still struggling to retain staff. She emphasized support for recruitment and retention is needed.

“It’s unfortunate, but we don’t have good reimbursement rates for providers,” Parton contended. “We need to have better pay in general, which would help retain more staff. Community health centers already don’t have enough state funding to adequately run the programs they are tasked with supporting.”

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With COVID cases waning, more employers are asking workers to return to the office for the first time since the pandemic began, and mental health professionals said there are ways to manage the stress and anxiety from this big change.

Rates of anxiety and depression among U.S. adults were four times higher between April 2020 and August 2021 than they were in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr. Hillary Ammon, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, said a change in routine, like where you work, can be a stressor, but there are ways to manage those feelings.

“What I would recommend is for people to start to try to get into some of those routines that might look similar to the workplace,” Ammon advised. “So if that really is, you know, you have a very structured day at your work, and you had more flexibility working from home, can you try to structure your day so that it looks more similar to that work environment?”

Ammon suggested practicing driving or taking public transportation to help ease back into your commute, along with meal planning and preparation.

Dr. Nicole Brady, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare’s employer and individual business in Wisconsin and Michigan, said fears around catching COVID at the office can also be a trigger for stress. She urged having an open line of communication with your employer about what protocols are in place to prevent spreading the virus.

“We all know that masks are effective and certainly are reasonable at any time, despite what the levels may be in your community at that time,” Brady pointed out. “We know that vaccines are highly effective at preventing infection.”

Other tips include suggesting staggered work hours or days to your manager, to limit the number of people in the office at one time. The CDC recommends employees experiencing COVID symptoms notify their supervisors, get tested, and stay home until they feel better.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Americans’ stress levels higher than ever before, according to a new poll by the American Psychological Association (APA).

In recent years, most U.S. residents cited the pandemic, money, work, and the economy as top stressors. Now, they say scenes of the Ukraine invasion by Russia have pushed their stress levels even higher.

Lynn Bufka, a clinical psychologist and a member of the APA, said the organization conducted a February poll in anticipation of the two-year pandemic anniversary, and then polled people again in early March, specifically about the war in Europe.

“We found two-thirds or more are concerned about the economy, money, work,” Bufka outlined. “And then 80% or more of our respondents reported that they are very concerned about what’s happening in Ukraine.”

Bufka pointed out the APA does not usually see such a large percentage of people citing the same stress factor. She added the highest levels of stress previously reported in the surveys was during the 2008 recession. The March poll surveyed slightly more than 2,000 adults.

Bufka noted the stress people report is a normal response to an abnormal situation. She reported across the board, the possibility of nuclear war was especially concerning to those polled.

“It’s younger adults, older adults, people of color, men, women,” Bufka explained. “The fact that we’re seeing such a large proportion of the population also telling us that this is very stressful is different from even just six months ago.”

In regard to the pandemic, Bufka stressed it has been especially difficult for parents, because they are trying to manage their own concerns and also protect and raise their children.

“The mental, emotional, internal resources one has for managing all the demands are stretched really thin for parents,” Bufka observed. “It’s been pretty overwhelming for parents, in particular.”

In addition to parents, Bufka emphasized immigrants who fled a European conflict or veterans who have served in wars abroad say they are particularly stressed about the Ukraine conflict.

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