Amidst continued uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it’s causing to daily life, many people in Airdrie and across Alberta may be feeling increased anxiety.
‘We know the pandemic is a stressful time for people,” said Colleen Pruden, an education consultant with Alberta Health Services (AHS). “While the pandemic is going to pass, the stress is real.”
For that reason, AHS will host the online workshop “Transform Your Stress: The Resilience Advantage — Strategies for Managing Stress in Challenging Times” to teach Albertans how to manage their worries.
Pruden said the course looks at how emotions impact overall health, coping techniques and the warning signs and physiological response of stress. Participants also create action plans to address their stress.
The course is particularly relevant given the constant changes COVID-19 brings, she added.
“When we were under total lockdown, there were different stressors associated with that, then there were things opening up and people wondering what’s going to happen in the future,” she said.
The course teaches people how to cope with these life stressors by using breathing techniques, which have an immediate effect on the body’s physiology, Pruden said.
“Even one minute of taking a few slow, deep breaths can change the way our body is responding to stress and help us be more calm and feel better right in the moment,” she said.
Breathing techniques can also help reduce cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress, Pruden said.
“Our body needs cortisol in the right amount, but sometimes if we’re stressed, that hormone can rise to higher levels than what’s optimal for us and that can lead to chronic illness,” she explained.
Pruden said heart attacks, Type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular problems can develop as a result of long-term stress.
“If we’re dealing with stressor after stressor in our day, our body doesn’t have time to recover from that stress response,” Pruden said. “We stay activated, so these workshops help bring that response down to a normal level.”
Going for a walk, physical activity, staying socially connected while physically distancing and getting enough sleep may also help with stress, she said.
“We feel stressed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have a mental health problem,” she said. “It might just be a sign we need a little extra emotional support to help us with a challenging time.”
Although the coping techniques the course teaches will help alleviate stress, Pruden said some people do need professional help and she encouraged individuals to get in touch with a mental health helpline or physician if necessary.
Urgent mental health care is available at Airdrie Urgent Care, located at 604 Main Street.
The free workshops will take place Aug. 27 and Sept. 29. Interested participants can sign up at albertahealthservices.zoom.us/meeting/register/
Kate F. Mackenzie, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @katefmack
