How anxiety affects you

My column in Mindanao Daily, Businessweek Mindanao and Metro Cagayan de Oro Times

A drawn-out stressful situation can make simple tasks feel more difficult than they used to be. I experienced it myself since my German Consulate Office in Davao reopened. Both, my consulate clients and I got the same feelings.

Feel like you can’t concentrate on anything at the moment? You’re not alone. The extra anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has impaired our working memory, experts say. As writer and journalist, Kate Morgan stresses several days ago: we all know the feeling. You walk into a room with a mission and then stop, confused, and a little disjointed, realizing you have completely forgotten why you’re there.

Since the coronavirus’ spread began, almost all of us have been having that feeling of forgetting why I’m in another room dozens of times a day. We're finding it almost impossible to focus on anything at all. 

I can’t keep a phone number in my head long enough to dial it, and it takes forever to write a simple email. I start in on a task, and it’s only a few minutes before I’m distracted. My productivity has plummeted. Meanwhile, when at my home office alone, it's getting better step by step...

What was happening, is a malfunction of working memory: the ability to grasp incoming information, form it into a cohesive thought, and hold onto it long enough to do what you need to with it. “Think of it as the mental platform for our cognitive operations, for what we’re thinking now,” says Matti Laine, a professor of psychology at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. “Working memory is closely related to attention. You’re focusing on some task, some goal, some directive or behavior you want to get accomplished.”

In other words, working memory is the ability to reason in real-time, and it’s a big part of what makes the human brain so powerful. But research has shown that rapidly changing circumstances, worry, and anxiety can all have a significant impact on your ability to focus.

Rapidly-changing circumstances, worry, and anxiety can all have a significant impact on your ability to focus

“Long before the pandemic, we completed an online study with a large group of American adults who filled out self-assessment questionnaires,” says Laine. “We saw a trend of a negative relationship between anxiety and working memory. The higher the anxiety, the lower the working memory performance.” When you’re having an acute anxious experience – say, someone, threatening is walking behind you on your way home in the dark – it means you might have trouble recalling the details of their face. A drawn-out stressful situation can also ravage the working memory, making even the simplest tasks feel more difficult than they used to be.

“We’re talking about anxiety and stress that’s not acute,” says Laine. “It’s related to a deeply uncertain future. You don’t know – does it continue this summer, this autumn? Nobody knows. It’s leading us to a more chronic anxiety situation.”

New situations. New experiences. 

While collecting data for an as-yet-unpublished study on working memory training this spring, Laine says he and his team asked about 200 people from the UK and North America whether they had anxiety specifically linked to the pandemic.

Sustained anxiety can also cause insomnia, explains Oliver Robinson of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. “Lack of sleep is a really good way of impairing working memory,” he says. “If you’re not sleeping as well, that’s a great way to wreck it.”

Even if you’re not explicitly aware of being more on edge, “it’s something you’re processing,” adds Robinson. Working memory problems might also be due in part to a cognitive load that’s overwhelming your brain’s capacity.

Ducking out to the shops used to be a mundane activity. Now with Covid-19, there are many more steps in the process that increase anxiety and mental load, wrote Kate Morgan. 

The good news is you can exercise working memory. There are lots of ‘brain games’ out there, but playing most of them, experts agree, doesn’t do anything except make you better at that game. “Cognitive training games don’t make me better at remembering my shopping list,” says Robinson. “That’s like trying to train people to play tennis by having them run.”

In other words, rebooting your working memory may also mean cutting down on your news consumption and considering a break from social media. But the most effective thing to do might simply be to convince yourself it’s OK to be struggling. That helped me a lot for several days....

Why Pinoys are happy?

By Johannes L. Chua and Mae Lorraine Rafols Lorenzo, Manila Bulletin

SUNNY DISPOSITION — Filipinos are known for their ability to smile through their troubles, and to find something to laugh about even in trying times. (Kevin Tristan Espiritu)

If there’s one trait that the Filipinos are known for, aside from being hospitable, it’s our ability to be happy and stay positive no matter the circumstances. Whether we’re weathering strong typhoons or simply surviving the horrible Metro traffic – Filipinos still find a reason to smile.

Early this year, the Philippines was named the third happiest country in the world by Gallup International, scoring a “plus 84” which made us third after Colombia and Fiji, the leader.

Aside from the general sentiment, we also ranked fifth in the economic optimism index, which translated to 42 percent of Filipinos believing that 2018 will be a year of economic improvement for their household.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque Jr. in a statement can be remembered welcoming the results of the study, saying “we Filipinos are known as a happy, resilient people. We even manage to smile amid difficulties. It is therefore not surprising that we rank high in the global happiness index.”

Mid this year, the United Nations’ annual World Happiness Report showed that the Philippines ranked 71st among 156 countries included in their studies. The outcome was based on six key variables: Income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust, and generosity. The report is a major survey of the state of global happiness, which ranks participating countries based on their “happiness levels.”

But what makes Filipinos truly happy? History shows that Pinoys generally attribute their happiness to two reasons: Food and faith.

“Food is very important to Filipinos. It’s ingrained in the Filipino psychology where having food on the table is equated to survival. Which is why it is very important for most households to ensure that their family gets to eat at least three times a day. To enjoy a meal five times a day is like the ultimate happiness, which makes Filipinos feel like they are being given a bonus,” said Dr. Shiela Marie Hocson, Far Eastern University Guidance and Counseling Director.

Hocson, who is also the president of the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association, shared that a satisfied hunger brings out a general positivity among Filipinos which helps them establish a positive connection with the family and the community.

“This is also a big part of the reason why Filipinos are generally happy. We want to connect with our family, with society as a whole because we want to make sure that we have people to lean on to during difficult times. This trait makes us friendlier and open to people around us, which makes us better neighbors compared to other nationalities.”

Power of faith

Filipinos, who are mostly Catholics, can also attribute the general sense of happiness to their faith. In a way, challenges faced can be overcome as long as they have faith, with a higher power watching over one’s well-being, believing that all obstacles are tests of faith and overcoming it will be the ultimate reward.

A major testament of this belief are the various colorful town fiestas celebrated all over the country, where most celebrations happen after a long and difficult ordeal, while the positive results are rewards attributed to God.

For example, in Lucban, Quezon, their colorful town fiesta is a part of their culture and livelihood, connecting it to good fortune and reason for celebration.

“Lucban is famous for its colorful San Isidro Pahiyas (which means ‘to decorate’) Festival, the town’s festive way of giving thanks for a bountiful harvest. Lucban, like the rest of Quezon, is considered an agricultural town, blessed with rich soil thanks to 288 days of rain a year. Farmers would bring their produce in the church so they can be blessed by San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Through the years, the tradition has become so big that it was decided that instead of bringing the harvests in the church, they would just hold a parade for San Isidro and bless the houses of the farmers,” said Fr. Noel Cabungcal, parish priest of San Luis Obispo Church.

The Pahiyas Festival has become so big, and brought in so much joy to the town folks, that they decided to “spread” the happiness by showcasing the colorful event almost 365 days a year.

Though Filipinos are indeed a happy bunch, experts have also pointed out a reason that could dampen the air of positivity.

“Stress is a big factor that can affect the general happiness of Filipinos. Financial issues, in particular, is a major issue that can put a strain in relationships and our positive outlook in life,” said Hocson.

Despite the obstacles, Filipinos seem immune to whatever challenges life throws at them. There will always be a reason to smile, to be happy, and to face life head-on.