The hidden cost of losing good habits to Covid

Covid has changed how we live and not always for the better. Helen Harvey reports on how we can get back to a life we used to know.

After two years of living with Covid, lockdowns, vaccines, and thinking the worst of every little sniffle, physiotherapist Andrew Larkin says the best thing people can do is get back to a ‘‘drug’’ many have neglected – exercise and fitness.

‘‘We know it is good for us. ‘‘Exercise makes us feel better and then you take that ‘drug’ away from people and they feel even worse,’’ Larkin says. ‘‘Even if that was just a walk, whether that was because they were isolating or they were sick with Covid and could not exercise, but also I think some people were too scared to go out.’’

Understandably, when Covid hit in 2020 people stopped doing what they normally did.

Even outside the lockdowns, people hunkered down, staying at home, tightening their social circles and finding comfort, sometimes too much comfort, in home cooked food. And for many this worked, says the owner of New Plymouth’s Physiotherapy@Carefirst. People took stock of what was really

important to them – whānau, exercising, socialising with close friends – and made them their priorities, living a healthier physical and mental life because of it. But it did not work for everyone and it certainly did not work for the tens of thousands of people whose livelihood was either destroyed by Covid or made insecure, leaving them with a daily burden of stress with no relief in sight.

Everyone has been on tenterhooks with the pandemic for over two years now, says clinical psychologist and owner of New Plymouth’s TalkingPoint clinic Matthew Manderson.

‘‘Our minds and bodies were not designed to be under chronic stress like this. We get worn out mentally and our ability to manage preexisting issues in our lives is reduced under the strain.’’

He is seeing anxiety, depression, stress, addiction – alcohol, drugs, pornography – burnout, parenting difficulties, and an increase in parents refusing to send their children to school or children refusing to go. ‘‘As people get more stressed, their ability to suppress past issues decreases, so we are seeing people who were doing OK, who are now not coping and they are seeking help for issues from their childhood.

‘‘Initially there was a lot of anxiety about the Covid-19 situation but then people felt safe in New Zealand because we had this ‘under control’ and had clear ideas about how to keep ourselves safe.’’

But when Omicron broke, people became very frightened of the numbers of cases and the recorded deaths. This led to increased anxiety about being in public places; people experienced negative comments/interactions by those who did not wish to follow social distancing, mask wearing or scanning in. Suddenly just walking out the door could put you into conflict with those around you.

‘‘The stress of juggling working from home, kids at home, isolation, testing, really overwhelmed some people and made pre-existing stress levels, anxiety or depression worse.’’ And he is seeing people with more complicated medical problems because they have not been to their doctor and issues have built up, Manderson says.

‘‘So we are seeing some quite sick clients and are sending them to hospital urgently or back to their GP for review.’’

Sometimes people don’t have a GP, they avoided going because of Covid, or they have only had phone consultations. Whatever the reasons they have delayed seeking medical help, it has made their mental health worse, he says.

As well as difficulties accessing GPs, there are other issues adding to the stress. These could be the housing shortages, longer wait times in hospitals, mandate related employment issues, social media induced anxiety, cyber-bullying, fake news, and the rising cost of living, all of which impact on the wellbeing of everyone, he says.

Having stresses add up over the past two years means people’s usual coping strategies were not working, so they turn to other things, such as food. Centre for Empowered Eating owner, nutrition coach and educator Michelle Yandle says it is OK to use food as a coping mechanism as long as there are other tools in the kete, such as going outside to get fresh air or going to see a friend.

If there are no other tools, then it becomes a problem, she says. People need other options, Yandle says.

And during the pandemic food has been a coping mechanism people have turned to more often.

Emotional eating, stress eating, and eating from boredom have all been on the rise since Covid, she says. ‘‘There has definitely been a change in people’s relationship with food.’’ Many people eat more when working from home, and there are lots of reasons why people eat when they are not hungry, including stress and boredom. During the day there will be triggers that will get people to the fridge.

‘‘And there has been a tremendous jump in eating disorders.’’ While Yandle does not work with people with eating disorders, she has had a lot more people coming to her about the problem than usual. She directs them to where they can help.

‘‘I primarily work with those who have an unhealthy relationship with food – emotional eating, stress eating, using food to cope.’’

At the moment everything seems out of control and people need to control something, ‘‘so food is one of the things they can control’’.

Look at eating as an act of selfcare, she says. ‘‘Because you deserve to feel good. It is a way of taking care of yourself and sometimes that will include chocolate or a doughnut, finding that balance and not fearing certain foods.

‘‘Any way that you can eat veges, canned, frozen or from the garden, is good for your energy and to take care of your body.’’

And, as Larkin recommends, get outside and get some fresh air.

Walk around the block. And go and see friends.

‘‘It is about finding those balances that make you feel good and focusing on what can I do to take care of myself? What can I do to feel better? What can I do in this moment? What can I do with what I have got where I am,’’ she says.

‘‘Small steps to feel better. Take it one day at a time.’’