Covid Stress Disorder

by Trent Deerhorn, Deerhorn Shamanic Services

I have, over the last year and a half, noticed that many of my clients are experiencing odd combinations of symptoms and stressors in their lives as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, even if they have had the vaccine.  I don’t know if any psychologist is studying this phenomenon, but I decided to actually give it a name, which I have coined as Covid Stress Disorder, or CSD for short.  Please note that I am not a physician or a mental health practitioner.  If you have these symptoms, it is important to address them with health care practitioners of that sort.  The observations that I am making are based upon my work as an Energy Healer and Shaman.  So when I speak to these symptoms, I am basing it upon observations of the energy field that flows through and around the human body.  In observing the changes, I am also able to observe behavioral changes for the people experiencing CSD.  So here are a few of the observations that I have made.

*Please remember that I am not a person who can diagnose anything.  That is out of scope for what I do.  But I can certainly observe.

Loss of Memory:  As the pandemic dragged on, I have found that many people are experiencing mind fog that leads to loss of memory as well as often the inability to “find the word” they are looking for while speaking.  It is like, mid-sentence, suddenly a word that otherwise would have been quite available to them is suddenly gone.  Much of this has to do with being overwhelmed by the pandemic.  Some of it has to do with how our third eyes are handling isolation, having to resort to virtual communication, and chronic fatigue.

Worry:  On a grand scale this would include things like wondering if and when the pandemic will be over once and for all.  Some of that worry turns obsessive because humans are social animals and having to isolate and keep social distance is unnatural.  Sometimes on a more personal scale this worry is about whether or not one will contract Covid or inadvertently infect loved ones with it.  This constant state of worry disrupts the brain function as well as the overall health of the individual.  On an energy level it creates energy blockages in the solar plexus chakra, the base chakra, and the third eye chakra.

Anger:  This is, of course, a direct result of the isolation that everyone has experienced, but it can crop up in small ways day to day, such as being upset that you cannot see your parent or grandparent in a care home, or in large ways such as rage about encountering people or seeing reports about people who are breaking protocols or who are thinking that Covid is all made up.  Levels of incompetency and stupidity in other humans strains our already poor grasp of patience.  This is also manifested in an increase in road rage and people screaming at each other regarding protocols, their driving, a delay in some service etc.  This can been seen energetically with hot flares of energy moving abruptly from the base chakra up the energy system and exploding in the third eye.  Logic and reason, at a moment such as this, go completely out the door.  And it takes much longer to cool down afterwards.

Resentment:  This can involve pretty much anything having to do with how life has become abruptly and radically changed by the event of the pandemic.  But it can also express itself in smaller ways that burst forth because they have been buried within for too long.  This is one that I have personally experienced when my partner’s shifts at work in the initial stages of the pandemic were radically changes and completely all over the place.  I was worried about his safety at work, but also about how well he would function with shifts that varied at all times of the day.  I also resented having to eat alone too many days in a row.  This had been a time when we could sit, enjoy a meal, and reconnect after a long day at work.  Suddenly that was completely off the table.  The resentment energy often, I have noticed, lodges itself in the jaws and throat chakra.  People begin clenching their teeth unconsciously and even begin grinding teeth at night, which they never did previously.

Headaches:  A LOT of people are suffering from this symptom because of extra screen time due to having to do everything online at work and at home.  Some of it is a result of having to adapt to technology that they were unaccustomed to, and a lot because the pandemic is just plain stressful from the get-go.  The headaches are also associated with self-criticism as well as the perceived criticism from others (who are often not actually criticizing).  I did, you will note, use the word “perceived.”  With CSD, perceptions can really get wonky and people who have no intent to criticize are perceived to have done just that.  The mind fog that was previously mentioned contributes to this because it clouds judgement and does not allow for clear perceptions.  The energy level of all of this is mostly around the neck and head, but some of it also tracks down the back through the shoulders.

Guilt:  Sometimes these feelings of guilt are based in delusions.  Thinking that some past indiscretion or perceived indiscretion has led to the pandemic is one way in which it is experienced.  It did not at all help that there were politicians who were playing the guilt and blame game and trying to say that the pandemic was a result of certain groups of people, be they of particular sexual orientation, or political belief, or race.  That type of behavior only served the politicians, and no one else at all.  But the guilt that a person experiences can also be because of fortunate things.  For example, some folks whose jobs were not affected by the pandemic would feel guilty about still having a job when some of their friends became unemployed because of the ripple effect of the pandemic.  This energetically resides mostly in the mental and emotional bodies of the energy field.

Frustration:  This is often associated with the feeling of powerlessness when experiencing a pandemic.  Some of it is related to how others are not handling it well, and some of it can be related to how, during this particular pandemic, people are treating their medical information like some kind of a reward system on Social Media.  It is like previously mature people have to show off their vaccination badges of honor.  For many the question comes up, “Are we back in grade one?  Gold star for coloring within the lines…green badge for getting poked with a needle?”  While on the one hand, such posts on Social Media show support for those who are on board with a particular way of dealing with the pandemic, for others it comes across as judgemental.  There is judgement flowing both ways on this; from those who have had a vaccination towards those who have not yet, or who are unable to due to medical issues, or who are not comfortable with the concept of this particular vaccine in the first place.  Also judgement comes from those who are vaccine hesitant towards those who follow blindly the “science” simply because science is involved, as though science is not fallible.  This frustration wells up inside the energy of the stomach, or solar plexus chakra, moves up into the heart centre, and then does a needle point shot straight to the third eye chakra.  With that sort of abrupt energy flow, is it any wonder that there is such a division between the camps?

Restlessness:  This can be in general, but it is most often, from my observation, happening for people in the middle of the night.  The time is often correlated to the time of day when the liver begins to detoxify.  At this time, one wakes up and either can’t get back to sleep, or tosses and turns and, either way, does not get the rest one requires for their good health.  Often this begins in the solar plexus chakra and then moves downward to the base chakra.  While doing so it often over stimulates the adrenal glands, thus the restlessness.  Sometimes this will progress into having restless leg syndrome.  Just as one begins to fall back asleep, the legs begin to shake or they will have a sudden jolt of energy that moves them abruptly, thus waking the person up once again.

Depression:  This one begins with the third eye chakra and swirls around and through it.  Cloudiness of thought leads to depressing thoughts and imagery that move through the mind.  If one can see the specific thing that one is depressed about it becomes easier to remedy.  But if not, then one can actually spiral into an “Oh, what’s the use?” approach to their life and loved ones.

Detachment from the Inner Self:  You may have heard the term “disassociation.”  This one is sort of like that in that one tends to turn off the self-awareness button as a coping mechanism.  But where it becomes more intense is when anyone around us then observes something about our behavior and we are shocked that this should even be considered as a reality because, according to how we see ourselves, it is not.  This is more than denial.  With denial we are, on some level, aware of the situation and our participation in it, we just don’t wish to address it.  With detachment from the Inner Self, we are completely unaware, which makes our responses more intense than if it were just a denial system.  Anger then flares and we often become paranoid about others around us trying to make us crazy with judgemental thoughts about us, when those people were simply observing that “something is off.”

So what do we do about all of this?

I have noticed that regular energy balancing treatments help a lot to sort these things out.  But there are also other things that I have as  suggestions:

Bach Flower Remedies work with the energetic essence of particular flowers, transmuting them into tinctures that one takes orally that, once ingested, help with all sorts of mental and emotional balancing.  Here are a few to consider, but do research more on your own and decide which ones may work for you:

1. Rescue Remedy: This is sort of like “first aid” for emotional traumas and for extremely stressful situations.
2. Beech: This works with the intolerance of others and balances out criticizing without any understanding of the views and situations of others.
3. Cherry Plum: This is for the fear of letting go inside; fear of “losing one’s mind,” fear of loss of control, uncontrolled outbreaks of temper.
4. Crab Apple: This is for when one feels unclean, infected (or the worry of being infected), or has self-disgust.  One gets stuck in details.  Bugs and germs often are a primary concern as well as self-loathing.
5. Elm: for temporary feelings of inadequacy.  Also when one is overwhelmed by responsibilities.
6. Gorse: For hopelessness and despair.  An “Oh, what’s the use?” attitude.
7. Mustard: For specific fears that can be named, often leading to depression and anxiety.
8. Honeysuckle:  This applies to when one finds oneself longing for the past, for when things can “go back to normal,” as though that will happen any time soon during a pandemic.  It also helps for when one is not really “living in the present,” thus not responding to present needs.
9. Hornbeam: This is for weariness, mental exhaustion, either temporary or prolonged, and for procrastination.  It also helps for the “hung over” feeling upon waking.
10. Impatiens: For those who are impatient, irritable, and have excessive reactions.
11. Olive: For when one is completely exhausted, and has extreme physical and mental fatigue.
12. Red Chestnut: For when one has excessive worry and concern over others.
13. Walnut: For when one had difficulties around adjusting or around transition periods of life.
14. Water Violet: For inner reserve, proud withdrawal, feeling of superiority in isolation, and little emotional involvement.
15. Willow” For unspoken resentment and bitterness, “poor me” or “victim of fate” attitude.

So hopefully this will be of some assistance for you, the reader.  I am aware of the fact that there is a plethora of natural remedies other than Bach Flower Remedies that can assist in all of these symptoms; aromatherapy and homeopathic to name just two.  It is important to do your research and discover what works best for you.  I personally enjoy the Bach Flower Remedies because they do not in any way contradict any natural or medical remedies one may be on.

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