Page 9 - Enews June 2020 Edition

P a g e 9 K i n g s a n d Q u e e n s
QUARANTINE FATIGUE?

brain that registers fear, activates when we The brain's way of processing new details
A MENTAL HEALTH see or hear a threat (or information about is more difficult now because the method
the pandemic). When our brains perceive of obtaining them is mostly digital. Be-
CONCERN threats, fear is communicated throughout cause of social isolation, we can't rely on
the body via stress hormones and the sym- the brain region that helps us contextual-
Why some of us have stopped being vigilant pathetic nervous system, or our fight-or- ize information by processing intuition or
and how to overcome it if you've found flight response. "So the amygdala is im- social cues. Learning with people would
you're no longer disinfecting your hands as portant because it determines the relative help us process and positively reinforce
often or becoming more lenient toward un- importance of the threat," Gollan said. responsible behaviors.
necessary trips outside, you're not alone
Now the brain's alarm system has gone off,
so it has prepared the body to sort itself out We're trying to manage new, competing
and respond to questions like, "Do I get and ubiquitous information we haven't
more groceries today?" or "Do I meet with yet internalized, like we have driving a
This unintentional phenomenon is "caution those friends?" Enter the hippocampus, car through traffic. It doesn't help that the
fatigue" — and you have your brain to which is connected to the amygdala and the rules are always changing, or that rules
blame. You were likely vigilant at the pan- prefrontal cortex. It helps the brain assess and reopening phases are different on the
demic's outset, consistently keeping up with the context of a perceived threat and wheth- federal, state, local and personal levels.
ways to ensure you didn't get infected with er it's real, Gollan said. Or that we really don't even like rules in
the coronavirus or infect others. The threat the first place. We also haven't had the
was new and urgent to your brain. And driv- "They basically assign the context of how time to turn safety practices into habits.
en by the human instinct for self- wiping down the groceries initially was Since our brains like consistency, all
preservation, fresh fear motivated you to important, but now not so much," Gollan these factors might render following
eagerly adhere to recommended safety pre- said. "And so they put the brakes on it ... to guidelines exhausting and a moot point.
cautions. sort of decrease the amygdala fear of reac-
tivity."So the front part of the brain, the An excess of information can make it
thinking part, says, 'Hey, emotions. It's hard to adequately read the environment,
OK. You don't have to do that right now,'" understand what's a true threat and
Fast-forward three months, and that sense of she added. "We use these processes basi- whether you're doing enough to address
it. Mitigate information overload by only
immediacy may have faded. Caution fatigue cally to create a sense of control." This reading relevant, credible information
"occurs when people show low motivation perception of control as a way to manage from a few sources to come up with a
or energy to comply with safety guide- threats can make you more confident balanced viewpoint about what to do.
lines," said Jacqueline Gollan, who holds about the things that once scared you, Make safety practices into habits by set-
two professorships at the Northwestern because you're now reassured that you're ting up visual cues — for example, set
University Feinberg School of Medicine: safe.
one in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Consider a horror movie, for example — your face mask on a table by the door to
remind yourself to put it on before you
and another in obstetrics and gynecology. seeing it the second or third time isn't near- leave. Social processing is imperfect
"It's reflected when we become impatient ly as scary as the first time you watched it. right now, but it can help to talk with
with warnings, or we don't believe the "There's a way people may create a context family and friends about what they think
warnings to be real or relevant, or we de- that assumes that it's not important," Gollan and what makes sense. "Then when
emphasize the actual risk," she added. said. "They don't see anybody sick around you're confronted with the situation that
"And in doing that, we then bend rules or them. They don't know what's going on, so you need to solve, you have many more
stop safety behaviors like washing hands, why would they pay attention to it? So they tools in your toolbox," Zillmer said
wearing masks and social distancing." may assume a sense of confidence or a
perception of control to ... confront the
Caution fatigue has been observed in previ- situations that are actually risky." Our Reduce Your Stress
ous or everyday life situations, such as when brains adjust the perception of the alarms to
you ignore an alarm of some sort and don't reduce the stress, so then it takes longer to
take it seriously because you've heard it respond to the warning or we ignore it. You Heightened or newfound anxiety and
before. This mental state happens for a few might disinfect some groceries but not all depression can make you feel hopeless or
reasons, including chronic stress, decreased or just wash your hands occasionally. depleted. With unemployment or family
sensitivity to warnings and the inability to struggles, the increased stress leads to
process new information with others. You changes in how our brains function and
can combat quarantine fatigue with self- how we behave.
care, conversations with loved ones and Information Overload
"If I have to go out

shifting your mindset so following guide- Caution fatigue also comes from cognitive and survive, I may pay less attention to
lines seems rewarding instead of dreadful. my health and those safety precautions,
challenges, said Eric Zillmer, a professor
of neuropsychology at Drexel University in because I'm not focused on that," Gol-
Pennsylvania. "Almost all of America is lan said.
Adapting to Threats being confronted with an ambiguous,
complex problem-solving situation," he
added. "We've never been through
“Caution fatigue can result from a de- anything like this, so it's ambiguous."
creased sensitivity to repeated warnings,”
Gollan said. The amygdala, the region of the
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