4-24: Sometimes the smallest piece of a bit of news or just a glimpse of the enormity of the effect of the pandemic on our planet sends me into a tailspin. The ground is no longer firm under my feet and I feel light-headed. My first instinct is to try to make sense of what’s happening, as we all do. It’s human nature to try to figure things out. My tendency is to put the story into historical context, for instance. Others might try to make sense of it through politicizing, activism, or reaching out to others. Some people apply themselves to seeing patterns in the staggering numbers and to try to make predictions. Still others throw themselves into the fray (like during the “senseless” first World War, during which about 10 million soldiers died. In this era, our heroic health care workers are responding to the crisis in the way makes sense to them: they go to work.)
All these massive numbers and terrible stories we’re hearing and reading take their toll. One of the reasons for the anxiety and stress is that our brains are working extra-hard to try to fit together all the shocking bits and pieces to make a coherent picture. Psychological studies have shown that when we’re disoriented or puzzled, our brains work much harder. For example, some studies show that when students read a nonsense poem or a super-puzzling story by Franz Kafka just before they take an exam, they score higher. Nonsense makes us smarter because we put all our mental attention on trying to figure out what that nonsense is supposed to mean. We try to make sense of things so that we won’t be surprised or taken unawares by threats. We don’t like what we don’t know.
What this means for us right now is that even if there’s no way to figure something out, our brains are still on over-drive. When there’s nothing to focus on, like an exam or a competition, our over-active brains splinter into anxiety and stress. The antidote? Active creativity. Whether it’s cooking, digging, playing, drawing, or taking a walk, our brain calms down when it’s focused and accomplishing something. Instead of trying to make sense of what’s impossibly devastating, focus on something tangible that you can control, like boiling an egg. Instead of concentrating on your brain’s overly-stimulated search for meaning, focus on something present and good. Something sweet, or soft, or fragrant. Distract yourself with a bath, or building a shelf, or getting out the crayons. Put your attention toward creativity, meditation, physical activity, or rest.