GAD and COVID
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The author
About seven years ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It was a condition I was not familiar with and had never encountered.
It started with sudden dizzy spells, hyperventilation, racing heartbeat, upset stomach, vision problems, among other things. When it happened, I couldn’t concentrate on my work, and all I wanted to do was go the Emergency Room. I thought I was having a heart attack or stroke.
My visit to my doctor revealed no abnormal vital signs except for an elevated blood pressure. Lab test and brain scan results all came back normal.
These unexplained spells became quite frequent and, each time, my first instinct was to rush to the Emergency Room, which I did sometimes twice in a span of a few days. Same results at each E.R. visit: everything was normal. But scary thoughts crossed my mind each time: I was dying.
It was not after many weeks that my doctor finally put me on a drug called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that is commonly prescribed for people experiencing depression. It was then that I was officially diagnosed with GAD.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Society of America, GAD is characterized by persistent and excessive worry about a number of different things. People with GAD may anticipate disaster and may be overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues. Individuals with GAD find it difficult to control their worry. They may worry more than seems warranted about actual events or may expect the worst even when there is no apparent reason for concern.
GAD affects 6.8 million U.S. adults, or 3.1 percent of the population, in any given year. Although the exact cause of GAD is unknown, there is evidence that biological factors, family background, and life experiences, particularly stressful ones, play a role.
While I never figured out what caused my GAD, my therapist and I suspected that it was triggered by a drastic life change — when I changed jobs and had to relocate from San Francisco to San Jose, California, leaving behind my social support system.
“Weeks ago, I developed a fever which, it turned out, was caused by some minor bacterial infection. Not the coronavirus. But I swore in my mind at the time that I had it!”
Speaking of therapy, I not only had to schedule regular visits with a psychiatrist, but I also enrolled in group Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Hearing other people’s experiences which matched mine was a big help. I also had to constantly listen to meditation tapes to take my mind off all the worry.
It seemed that all the intervention helped, except that, fast forward to 2020, my GAD has resurfaced. This time, it was easy to identify the trigger.
Life has significantly changed since COVID-19 started to surface in the Philippines. The imposition of a Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine in mid-March made me a prisoner in my own home.
Senior citizens with co-morbidities like myself were specific targets of what is called in America as “shelter in place.” I had no choice but to limit my sources of food and essentials to the neighborhood grocery and talipapa (small wet and vegetable market). With that, my one source of joy — gourmet cooking — was up in the air. Travel restrictions also put many things on hold — regular trips to Manila to visit with friends and family, weekend trips to resorts, and even the time I’d usually spend in California. The thought of not knowing when things would resume is causing much anxiety, as is the fact that local resources for therapy are non-existent or on hold because of the focus on COVID -19 cases.
Weeks ago, I developed a fever which, it turned out, was caused by some minor bacterial infection. Not the coronavirus. But I swore in my mind at the time that I had it!
For now, all I can do is deal with GAD on my own, the best I can, relying heavily on my experience dealing with it in America.
But as I deal personally with the collateral effects of COVID -19, I can’t help but think of others who may — knowingly or unknowingly — be experiencing mental health issues as a direct consequence of the pandemic and the resulting restrictions.
We are constantly reminded to wash our hands, wear a face mask, and practice physical distancing to curb the further spread of COVID -19. I wish people would also be reminded to take care of their mental health in all this.
Rene Astudillo
Rene Astudillo is a writer, book author and blogger and has recently retired from more than two decades of nonprofit community work in the Bay Area. He spends his time between California and the Philippines.
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