MBSR for the Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 has reached most of our countries now. But in many places, it still feels like the calm before the storm. Especially to health professionals, who will soon face the full impact of the pandemic at the frontline of care. They are worried about the number of serious illnesses they will have to treat. Will the mass of patients overburden our healthcare system? What if the images from Wuhan and Northern Italy become our own reality soon? It seems surreal to imagine a similar situation here at our own protected home.

A challenging time is approaching us. They say, it will be a challenge alike any other we have had to face in our lives before.

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As hard as this may sound in this context: It is essential to keep a clear head right now.

What does a “clear head” mean?

A head that doesn't break down in the face of fear.

A head that doesn't panic.

A head that will not impair but strengthen the resilience and stamina of our health professionals for the coming months.

A head that knows how we can pull the very best out of this situation, however terrible it may become.

So that we can live with what happened during the day when we come home at night. So that when the pandemic is over, life can go on with a good conscience because we know that we went into the crisis well-prepared and seized all available resources at the time of the crisis to create the best possible outcomes for ourselves.

Of course, it is utmost important now to protect ourselves from the virus, so that we can remain functional. For this purpose, it certainly makes sense to strengthen our immune system with preventive measures such as taking vitamins, zinc and ginger, and getting sufficient sleep. However, our ability to remain functional also depends on the mental and psychological resources we have adopted to carry us through this crisis.

There are different approaches to tank up our mental and psychological capacities. In this blog, I would like to share with you a resource that worked well for me personally: It draws on the “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction” (MBSR) program by Jon Kabat-Zinn and on the “Mindful Self-Compassion” (MBC) concept by Kristin Neff and Christopher Garner.

Both of them teach us how to look after ourselves attentively and empathically, regardless of the situation we are in. Instead of locking ourselves into brooding loops or torturing ourselves with destructive emotions, it equips us with the skills to “stay by our side”, particularly in difficult situations. With this skill, we are also arming ourselves for situations such as the coronavirus pandemic. We can then choose whether we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by fear and stress, or whether we put our self-determined mindfulness in charge in order to remain functional. In other words, whether we master this situation in a healing mode rather than in agony becomes our conscious choice.

In my opinion, this could be the most important fundament to get us through this Covid-19 challenge sanely. The crisis marathon over the upcoming months will require substantial mental and psychological stamina from each of us. And we must retain sufficient functionality and resilience to carry us through this difficult time.

Thus, beyond strengthening our immune system with zinc, vitamins, ginger, etc., this means that we now must use this time before the pandemic culminates also for strengthening ourselves mentally and psychologically. And when the virus hits hard, we can use the shortest moments at work and our time back at home at night to throw off stressful moments and refuel our strength. This is not meant to be a call for more pressure and performance – but a gentle call for self-determined healing, warmth and affection.

The completion of a standard MBSR course takes 8 weeks. We don't have that much time left. Therefore, in the coming days, I will put together a short, adapted self-learning program for health professionals in the Covid-19 crisis, so that you can teach yourself some MBSR and MSC fundamentals and techniques before the pandemic culminates.

These resources are meant to help you stay healthy, strengthen your stamina, and keep yourself functional for the difficult time to come. So that despite the challenging circumstances, you can continue to treat yourself with dignity every day, attentive to what you have mastered. You owe yourself this dignity, and it will contribute to your immunity and health just as well as zinc, ginger and vitamin C.

Mindfulness is about where we focus our attention.

What does that look like, in practice?

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be a point when you will have to choose between patients. This is a hardcore example, but also a clear one, to explain this pragmatically: you cannot change this messed up situation. It is like it is, and it is not your fault. The focus of your attention, on the other hand, is your choice, and it will determine how you yourself will be doing in and after this given situation. You could either lose yourself in despair because you have to let go of a patient – or you can embrace yourself with mindful self-compassion for this difficult moment, and with this inner resource continue to help other patients. This sounds banal, but it’s not. Self-determined mindfulness to the things that are healing versus harmful to us makes the difference. Especially in a time where an abnormal pandemic threatens to overburden our system and push us beyond our capacity. When you face such situations with mindful self-care and self-compassion, you will be helping yourself, your patients, and the entire system. Because you will be healthier and better able to support yourself and people around you.

This Covid-19 Resources website will introduce you to MBSR and MSC materials in preparation for the pandemic. On the subsequent pages, you will find resources for your own independent learning of these skills. I will try my best to make the material entertaining so that you enjoy reading it, and I will keep it short to minimize your reading load. I hope you will enjoy this program!

— Annegret Hannawa