At least 14 million people have now contracted COVID-19 and 600,000 of them have died. This combination of physical, emotional, social and financial challenges has never been faced by anyone alive. And each person living today is now facing them.
Ongoing Traumatic Stress Disorder has been proposed as a description of COVID’s extreme threats to life, health, financial security, housing, nutrition, personal relationships and the very fabric of society. Ongoing stress brings with it both emotional anguish and suppression of the body’s immune response. These two conditions tend to amplify each other, leading to emotional overload, compromised immunity, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness in the face of the crisis. Drug overdose deaths are currently soaring in the United States, another tragic toll of the virus.
What can CBT bring to this time of pandemic? Quite a lot, the research says. One CBT tool, yoga practice, provides a unique mix of physical and psychological benefits that may well convey protection from the pandemic or be an adjunct treatment for those already infected. This post presents an overview of research in support of this powerful CBT method.
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