Covid-19: A Hopeless Situation?

By Liam Myles, MBPsS

The outbreak of Covid-19 has manifested a state of elevated anxiety across the global population. I currently work as an assistant psychologist in a community mental health recovery service and many of our clients have experienced a deterioration in their mental health in response to the virus. A common theme amongst clients is a sense of helplessness, with one individual claiming that “the situation is hopeless.” Our team is working tirelessly to help clients to maintain their autonomy and avoid developing a sense of hopelessness.

A series of studies conducted by Martin Seligman underlined the importance of autonomy in psychological welfare. Seligman taught dogs that the sound of a tone indicated that they were about to receive an electric shock. During the training, some dogs were placed in escapable cages and others were placed in inescapable cages. When presented with the tone in an escapable cage, the dogs trained in escapable cages evaded the tone, whereas the dogs trained in inescapable cages made no effort to escape. These studies led to the development of ‘Hopelessness Theory’, which argues the perception of autonomy is crucial for psychological wellbeing; its absence results in a state of ‘hopelessness’ (Abramson et al., 1989).

Evidence for the importance of autonomy in the psychological welfare of humans comes from Glass and Singer (1972). They exposed participants to noxious tones, with some having access to a button that would terminate the tone if it became ‘too difficult to endure’. Despite very few participants pressing the button, those with access to the button reported less psychological distress than the group without access to the button. These results underline the importance of autonomy in psychological wellbeing and maintaining a sense of control over one’s environment.

More ecological evidence for Hopelessness Theory comes from repeated demonstrations that low perceived autonomy is associated with the manifestation of depression (Bjørkløf et al., 2016), anxiety (Epkins & Heckler, 2011) and stress (Hasel et al., 2013). Moreover, autonomy appears to possess a causal role in depression, with demonstrations that alterations in perceived control dynamically preceded variations in depressive symptomology (Bjørkløf et al., 2018).

The role of autonomy in psychological welfare is particularly relevant during the pandemic. This outbreak has resulted in mandatory restrictions being placed on various aspects of our lives, including our ability to freely go to work, see friends and leave our homes. Much of this is beyond our control and it is easy to see how this could manifest a sense of hopelessness.

However, there are various ways in which we can maintain a sense of autonomy during these difficult times. It is important to focus on exercising our autonomy over things that are within our control, such as what we do and how we behave in response to the virus. In the UK, many have volunteered to help the NHS as a way of maintaining their autonomy. This can help individuals to gain a sense of purpose and assist health workers in the fight against the virus. Another method of exercising control over one’s life involves planning activities in one’s diary and following through with completing them. Engaging in such activities provides one with a sense of purpose and achievement, if completed successfully.

Crucially, behaviours aimed at maintaining a sense of autonomy should be guided by one’s core values. It is difficult to provide general advice on activities to bolster one’s autonomy, as core values vary on an idiosyncratic basis. However, it is important to engage with activities that are valuable to you and improve your life in a meaningful way. For example, if maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a particularly important aspect of one’s life, one may wish to implement a regular exercise routine.

Overall, it is unequivocally important that we endeavour to maintain our sense of autonomy during the coronavirus outbreak. Failing to do so can have negative ramifications on mental health by manifesting a sense of hopelessness. Whilst much of the situation is beyond our control, we can still maintain a sense of autonomy by exercising power over various aspects of our environment, as guided by our core values. Engaging in such behaviours will help to maintain psychological wellbeing and a sense of purpose during these difficult times. It seems that Covid-19 may not be such a hopeless situation after all and we may come out of this stronger than ever before.

About the author

Liam Myles, MBPsS

Assistant Psychologist, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (United Kingdom)

Liam studied at Durham University and has been involved in various areas of research. Initially, his research related to two key areas, including evaluating the role of associative mechanisms in spatial navigation and the role of body parts in emotion recognition. Following this, he began working with Leeds University on two different projects, one relating to the psychological mechanisms of the financial decumulation of assets post-retirement and the other pertaining to therapeutic interventions for individuals with eating disorders. Finally, he began working with both Leicester University and Durham University on two different projects. His work with Leicester involves assessing abnormal associative mechanisms in schizophrenia and his work with Durham University relates to the role of autonomy in depression. He currently works as an assistant psychologist for Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in a community mental health recovery service for individuals with severe and enduring mental health difficulties

Contact: liam.a.myles@outlook.com

Reference

Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Alloy, L. B. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression. Psychological review, 96(2),358.

Bjørkløf, G. H., Engedal, K., Selbæk, G., Maia, D. B., Borza, T., Benth, J. Š., & Helvik, A. S. (2018). Can depression in psychogeriatric inpatients at one year follow-up be explained by locus of control and coping strategies? Aging & mental health, 22(3),379-388.

Bjørkløf, G. H., Engedal, K., Selbæk, G., Maia, D. B., Coutinho, E. S. F., & Helvik, A. S. (2016). Locus of control and coping strategies in older persons with and without depression. Aging & mental health, 20(8), 831-839.

Epkins, C. C., & Heckler, D. R. (2011). Integrating etiological models of social anxiety and depression in youth: Evidence for a cumulative interpersonal risk model. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 14(4),329-376.

Glass, D. C., & Singer, J. E. (1972). Behavioural Aftereffects of Unpredictable and Uncontrollable Aversive Events: Although subjects were able to adapt to loud noise and other stressors in laboratory experiments, they clearly demonstrated adverse aftereffects. American Scientist, 60(4),457-465.

Hasel, K. M., Besharat, M. A., Abdolhoseini, A., Nasab, S. A., & Niknam, S. (2013). Relationships of personality factors to perceived stress, depression, and oral lichen planus severity. International journal of behavioural medicine, 20(2), 286-292.

Seligman, M. 1975. Helplessness: On Depression, Development and Death.Freeman, San Francisco.