Author
Monika Tempel, as appeared in Alpha1 Journal 2/2023.
„Recognize and use "Corona fear" as an opportunity
No one wants to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and experience its potentially long-lasting consequences (post-COVID/long-term effects). This is especially true for members of vulnerable groups (such as Alpha-1 patients). Increased "COVID anxiety" among Alpha-1 patients is understandable, but by no means inevitable. COVID anxiety (the term commonly used in the literature) is a surprisingly well-researched topic. The following article uses five guiding questions to explore the known background and shows ways to deal with COVID anxiety appropriately. Fear is only ever a "good advisor" when it alerts us to dangers and necessary behavioral changes. If (COVID) anxiety takes over, concentration, creativity, and the energy needed to correct course are lacking.
Guiding question 1: Can links between COVID anxiety and mental well-being be proven?
COVID anxiety has been proven to be linked to various aspects of mental health:
- depression
- stress
- Fear
- Sleep problems
- Psychological well-being
The correlations vary from rather weak to moderate (in sleep problems and mental well-being) to excessive to strong (in depression, stress, and anxiety). All of the factors mentioned are important building blocks for a happy and healthy life. If one of these building blocks is impaired, the risk of serious physical or mental health problems increases. Therefore, it is important to recognize COVID-related anxiety early on or (even better!) to prevent it proactively.
Guiding question 2: Which risk factors play a role in COVID anxiety?
If risk and protective factors can be reliably demonstrated for a disorder, there is justified hope for useful approaches to prevention, treatment, and aftercare (rehabilitation).
An Austrian research group has developed a biopsychosocial model of severe COVID anxiety and investigated the following risk factors:
- Biological factors (pre-existing physical and mental health conditions, gender)
- Psychological factors (trait anxiety = anxiety as a state, state anxiety = situational anxiety, severe health anxiety, specific phobia, psychological well-being, depression)
- Psychosocial factors (social support, social media consumption, financial losses, contact with infected persons).
The significant (not explainable by chance) correlations found can be clearly illustrated graphically. It is noteworthy that this study found no significant correlation between pre-existing physical conditions and increased COVID-19 anxiety. While this finding should be interpreted with caution, it could certainly be seen as an indication of good resilience and coping abilities in patients with chronic illnesses (e.g., Alpha-1 patients).
The study results offer, firstly, the opportunity to provide appropriate support to individuals with a risk profile in dealing with COVID-19 anxiety at an early stage. Secondly, the findings shed light on potential protective factors against COVID-19 anxiety.
Guiding question 3: Which protective factors can be used in connection with COVID anxiety?
The Austrian study already indicated a possible protective effect of a stable partnership against COVID anxiety. Other studies confirm this finding and identify further protective factors against COVID anxiety.
These findings lead to the following two guiding questions for practice.
Key question 4: Can COVID anxiety be measured?
In fact, several useful and reliable instruments for measuring COVID anxiety already exist. They were mostly developed based on questionnaires for general health anxiety. The best-known questionnaires and scales are:
- Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S; Ahorsu et al., 2020)
- COVID stress scales (CSS; Taylor et al., 2020)
- Fear of Coronavirus Questionnaire (FCQ; Mertens et al., 2020)
- Newly developed scale (NEW; based on Mertens et al., 2020).
The development and testing of these four measurement instruments reveal the many facets of COVID anxiety and their interrelationships. Each questionnaire places different emphases. To effectively treat (or even prevent from developing in the first place) such a complex disorder as COVID anxiety, researchers can strategically use the different questionnaires with their respective focuses. This allows them to assess individual anxieties and psychological burdens and develop the most tailored interventions possible for those affected.
Guiding question 5: Which services can effectively prevent or alleviate COVID anxiety?
In their search for helpful interventions against COVID anxiety, the researchers start with observations such as the following:
- Not everyone develops COVID anxiety and related mental disorders.
- On the contrary: The majority demonstrates adequate psychological resilience in the face of health threats posed by a virus that is still poorly understood.
- Study results suggest that this resilience could be based on constellations such as optimism, mindfulness, and resilience.
This provided the researchers with a lead. And indeed, they were able to demonstrate that optimism, mindfulness, and resilience significantly influence the relationship between COVID anxiety and mental health problems. Depressive symptoms play a key role in this and should therefore receive special attention.
The studies provide starting points for the development of programs to combat COVID anxiety:
- Promote optimism!
- Practice mindfulness!
- Strengthen resilience!
These approaches are considered helpful for both patients affected by COVID anxiety and their relatives. Demonstrably effective programs for strengthening optimism, mindfulness, and resilience exist for various settings (individual or group; in person or online).
Here is a small selection of free offers from the experts' "digital treasure trove":
- Staying on course COMPACT (LIR Mainz): lir-mainz.de/aufkursbleiben-kompakt
- Embracing Life (Matthias Wengenroth): daslebenannehmen.de/Audio-Uebungen
- Mindfulness exercises (Pfalzklinikum): pfalzklinikum.de/aktuelles/detail/achtsamkeitsuebungen-zum-download/
- MBSR course (evidero.de): evidero.de/themen/mbsr-achtsamkeitstraining-online
- 7Mind app (7 Mind GmbH): 7mind.de
