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COVID-19Self Care Strategies for Healthcare WorkersFirst of Three Webinar Presentations

One Stop Shopping to the most appropriate Self Care Strategies for you!

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This webinar is using a Knowledge to Practice Framework which provides relevant content and resources

Please note this Webinar is not intended to be a substitute for

professional medical advice

Goals for today

1. Self- Awareness-check in

2. Physical and emotional impact of working in a Covid-19 environment

3. Changes of mental health phases overtime

4. Navigating the available resources

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Housekeeping

Slide deck and tip sheet will be shared with you shortly following the training.

This webinar will be recorded and posted on the RGP Toronto YouTube channel.

Please type your questions related to the content into the chat. There will be opportunity for Q&A at the end of the webinar.

The Corona Coaster

Coping with Corona, Applying Emotional Intelligence at Work and Home

Mark Bracket PhD and Robin Stern PhD Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence Oji Life Lab, 2020

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11 North staff frontline during Covid-19

OUR VISION

The Psychological Impact

of working in a

Covid-19 Environment

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Worried

Anxious

Grateful

Bored

Optimistic

Depressed

Normal

Untroubled

Numb

Pessimistic

Other

How would you describe you mental health during this pandemic?(Click all that apply)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadians-angus-reid-pandemic-survey-1.5545594

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Working in a

Healthcare organization

with Covid-19

has emotional implications

Changes in Mental Health Burden Over TimeWuPet al. Can J Psychiatry 2009; WuP et al. Alcohol2008; LeeAMet al. Can J Psychiatry 2007

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Changes in Mental Health Burden Over TimeWuPet al. Can J Psychiatry 2009; WuP et al. Alcohol2008; LeeAMet al. Can J Psychiatry 2007

Changes in Mental Health Burden Over Time

WuPet al. Can J Psychiatry 2009; WuP et al. Alcohol2008; LeeAMet al. Can J Psychiatry 2007

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A-B-Cs of stress-distress

What did you end up doing?

What goes through your mind?

What are your emotions?

Katzman MA, Bleau P, Blier P, et al. Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders.BMCPsychiatry. 2014;14Suppl 1

https://blauberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/circle-Covid19-safety-Health

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H EA LT H PRO V I D ER' S EM OT I O N S D U RI N G C O V I D

I miss my friends and family. All

this suffering is a lot to cope

with. I care so much for my

patients.

Why are we not getting more

supplies ? Why are these people

not staying home? Do you know

what I would pay to binge on

Netflix and complain about my

kids?!

All those signs of support from

the public and my family make

me proud. I am happy to be

contributing. Let's do a happy

dance, someone has recovered!

I don't want to be exposed or

expose someone I love. I am

afraid to lose people I love.

There is so much uncertainty.

https://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Psychological_FirstAid_HealthCare_COVID-19_Workbook_Final_2.pdf

U N I Q U E C H ALLEN GES O F

H EALT H C ARE PRO V I D ERS

Adapted from:

https://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Psychological_FirstAid_HealthCare_COVID-19_Workbook_Final_2.pdf

C O M MO N R E A C T I O N S D U R I N G C R I S I S

• Anticipatory anxiety (what if ?)

• Feeling overwhelmed

• Frustrated with decision-makers (system)

• Irritation with communication issues

• Perceived lack of control

• Uncertainty about role, tasks or what guidelines applies (vs general

public)

• Information overload/oversaturation

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U N I Q U E C H ALLEN GES O F

H EALT H C ARE PRO V I D ERS

Adapted from:

htps://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Psychological_FirstAid_HealthCare_COVID-19_Workbook_Final_2.pdf

C O M MO N R E A C T I O N S D U R I N G C R I S I S

• Stress related to trial and error of dealing with an unprecedented event

• Sleep problems and anxiety

• Feeling conflicted between responsibilities and obligations (professional, family, community)

• Tensions with coworkers (tension between professions, specialties, hierarchies)

• Us versus them (general public vs health care providers)

• Ethical and moral dilemmas

• Helplessness and exhaustion

• Difficulty meeting the demands of the workload

• Fear of infecting self or family members

• Anxiety related to knowing colleagues who are infected at work

• Being in "go mode" (task-oriented, survival mode)

U N I Q U E C H ALLEN GES O F

H EALT H C ARE PRO V I D ERS

Adapted from:

https://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Psychological_FirstAid_HealthCare_COVID-19_Workbook_Final_2.pdf

C O M MO N R E A C T I O N S D U R I N G C R I S I S

• Feeling detached

• Irritability

• Feelings of exhaustion

• Recovery period

• Potential for trauma-related reactions (for ex., PTSD, depression and

anxiety)

• Potential growth and lessons-learned

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U N I Q U E C H ALLEN GES O F

H EALT H C ARE PRO V I D ERS

Adapted from:

https://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Psychological_FirstAid_HealthCare_COVID-19_Workbook_Final_2.pdf

The main takeaways from this page are the following:

If you are experiencing stress and exhaustion, you are most likely a normal human being

with a nervous system and a brain (welcome to humanity).

Your reactions to COVID-19 are most likely not going to be linear or static. You may

experience a back and forth of these experiences (sometimes feeling on top of it and

sometimes feeling like you are struggling to catch-up).

Hence, the importance of checking-in with yourself (see next sections).

Link for COVID-19 Workbook Information

Resources forAnxiety and

Stress

RNAO - Mental Health and Well Being: Resources for Psychosocial Support during the

COVID 19 Pandemic, April 9,2020

Mental Health Commission of Canada: Coping with Stress. Coping with Stress and

Anxiety; www.ccsa or www.mentalhealthcommission.ca

www.camh.echoontario.ca /echo-coping-with-covid

www.mbwpg.cmha.ca/covid-19-managing- stress- and anxiety

www.brainxhange.ca/public/resource centre-topics-A-to-Z/covid-19.aspx

www.who.com World Health Organization, March 2020

Mental Health and Resilience During Covid 19, Allison Crawford, MD, FRCPC and

Sanjeev Sockalingam, MD, MHPR, April 30, 2020

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Resources forAnxiety and

Stress

Coping with Corona, Apply Emotional Intelligence at Work and Home, Mark Bracket PhD,

and Robin Stern PhD, Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, Oji Life Labs, 2020

Navigating Stress during Uncertain Times, May 26, 2020, Summerville Family Health Team

https://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-

content/uploads/2020/05/Psychological_FirstAid_HealthCare_COVID-

19_Workbook_Final_2.pdf

www.macanxiety.com

www.camh.ca/Covid

https://cpa.ca/corona-virus/psychservices/

Key Strategies

The ABCDE Technique Attention

When you feel distressed, stop what you’re doing and

A- pay attention to your inner dialogue. What is your mind telling you?

B- Believe? – Do not automatically believe your thoughts!

C- Challenge – Defuse anxiety by broadening your focus. What’s the bigger picture? Is the thought fact or opinion? What might you think if you were feeling calmer?

D- Discount – Acknowledge that anxiety has been is dominating your thinking and let the unhelpful thoughts go.

E- Explore options – What would be helpful to focus on right now? What options do I have available?

www.macanxiety.com

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Key Strategies

The THINK Technique

True? – Is this thought 100% true? If not, what are the facts, and what is opinion?

Helpful? – Is paying attention to the thought useful to me or others?

Inspiring? – Does the thought inspire me or does it have the opposite effect?

Necessary? – Is it important for me to focus on the thought? Is it necessary to act on it?

Kind? – Is the thought kind? If not, what would be a kinder thought?

Thought Challenging Tips • Writing or typing your thought challenging process is more powerful than trying to do it in your head. We recommend trying out the free CBT Thought Diary app (Google Play, iTunes). • If you’re not used to paying this much attention to your inner dialogue, thought challenging might feel unnatural at first. That’s okay. Over time, it’ll start to feel easier. • This isn’t the most appropriate tool if you’re feeling very distressed, as it can be hard to think rationally when your emotional brain has taken over. Try defusing your emotions with a distraction activity and returning to thought challenging once you’re feeling calmer. Adapted from Carol Vivyan (2006)

www.macanxiety.com

Changes in Mental Health Burden Over Time

WuPet al. Can J Psychiatry 2009; WuP et al. Alcohol2008; LeeAMet al. Can J Psychiatry 2007