Well, we are now 14 months into the pandemic
and what's hopefully the final stretch
but the constant ups and downs
who among us isn't wearing thin, right?
it's easy to feel a sense of stagnation of emptiness
as the weeks and months go by
it's called "languishing"
psychologist Adam Grant recently wrote about it in the New York Times
so we turned to Instagram to ask what languishing looks like for you
one person compared it to climbing a never-ending ladder
another like listening to a song on repeat
and here's one many of us can relate to
work, sleep, pay bills, repeat
so let's explore this
and talk about how to break that cycle
Dr. Shimi Kang is a psychiatrist and author in Vancouver
and Dr. Rehman Abdulrehman is a clinical psychologist in Winnipeg
hello to both of you
hello
so Dr. Kang how do you see what languishing is
at its core
and why so many of us are feeling it these days
yeah so I'm going to just jump in
and give what I think the science of that term means um
so acute stress is like crisis
that's adrenaline
and you know and that's when we go into freeze, fight, flight
we get anxious, irritable
we get distracted
and then long-term stress is cortisol
it's like this dullness
and it's -- think of an animal that's going into a cave
they're hiding uh
they don't have the vitality
and to me that's the languishing
I believe we've been there a long time
even pre-pandemic
the data on stress being the number one health epidemic
has been there
and it is eroding our physical and mental health
and so I think languishing is a great word um
that we can all connect with and relate to uh
however, I think we were on that course even pre-pandemic
and it shined a lighter uh brighter light on it
right and I guess Dr. Abdulrahman
it's important to note that this affects everyone in different ways right
and one of the common themes that I saw in the comments that we got was
how it affects people's motivation
and their drive
this feeling that you know our lives are almost just kind of chugging along at a low hum
if I could read a few of these comments to you
I'm losing interest in everything because every day looks the same
I can't seem to find a sound routine
I have extra time but no motivation
so I do nothing
how do you approach this question of energy and drive
you know the interesting thing is uh
energy, drive, motivation are all tied to issues with mood
and typically when we think about depression or dysthymia
we're not always looking at just sadness
we are looking at the wearing away of the energy and motivation
now the way that we tend to approach that
needs to be tied to what we call behavioural activation
the problem that during a pandemic is that
all things we would typically do that would increase that behaviour
like a routine to go to work, being outside, socializing
a variety of activity
all that is taken away
and so the way to approach that ultimately is to
in a situation where
we've never been before
we have to become the people we never were before
and we have to start to think outside the box
to find ways to do things that give us that activity, that variety
but it won't be the way that we're used to doing it
so give me an example
when you say thinking outside the box to do some of these things
what do you mean
well I am not an outdoor winters person at all
and you know this past winter I found myself getting all the winter equipment I needed
to make sure that I was outside playing with my son
so I had to become somebody I wasn't
in order to make sure that I had the activity
and that variety that I needed that would sustain a good sense of mental health
and positive mood
Dr. Kang how do you see that that fundamental problem
of regaining or wrestling back control in your life
yes uh I think it is it definitely is a problem
because we have to redefine
and adaptability is the key to survival and thriving
and adaptability is the best fit with an ever-changing world
that's survival of the fittest
and so what we just heard is adaptation
we have to do things differently
and this science though is in all of us
we can all do it
the example you just heard is nature actually gives us motivation
we're meant to be outside
connecting with loved ones gives us oxytocin
trying new things in terms of recreation
it's that word recreate that gives us serotonin
these are powerful mood enhancers
brain optimizers
we can do all of these activities on our own
and even through the pandemic
it's simple but not easy uh
is what I say but if we really understand the science
and sometimes we there's a bit of numbness to the same
uh conversation, routine, regular sleep
get outside
but these are vital and they are simple
but not easy
but they lead to uh wellness and vitality
which is what we're talking about
and Dr. Kang is there a clear point
at which a person should kind of look inward and say
you know what maybe this is more than just a case of the blahs right
that I'm just feeling like in this slump
and that maybe I should think of my mental health
and this idea of actually
maybe I'm unwell right now
yeah so we would define you know when we cross over to a medical disorder of depression
uh really uh where it is now impacting your functioning
so you know you have this feeling of languishing let's say
but you really are having a time being productive
whether it is getting your work done
taking care of your kids
taking care of yourself
and I do want to mention burnout
because burnout is in between depression
and closer to languishing I would say
burnout is now recognized by the world health organization
as a syndrome
and I think we were headed to a lot of burnout
uh before pandemic and of course
we're feeling it now
I like that word a bit better
because I feel it's a bit more actionable
so Dr. Abdulrahman maybe i'll give you the last word here
just in terms of
I mean you mentioned some coping strategies
but what ought a person to do
I don't know maybe starting tonight or tomorrow morning
to feel like they're getting back on the right track
back to some sense of normalcy
well our emotions are tied to both our cognitions
our thinking and our behaviour
so look at your behaviour
see what's changed
you know from pre-pandemic
replicate things you need to do in a different way that gives you that activity
and that variety as much as possible
perspective also is critically important as well too
and the pandemic has kind of taken that away
we've got a moving target or a light at the end of the tunnel
so we have to work with ourselves and have conversations with people
that allow us to shift in how we look at things
and that shift in the way that we look at things
can offer that little bit of control that we often need
you know it's that the holding of a corner of a page
instead of palming the entire page
and that little bit of control
that little bit of perception shift
can allow us to turn page by page until we finish a book
one page at a time I like that
doctors thank you so much for your time
helpful conversation
thank you