Thursday, August 28, 2025
46.1 F
Beckley
More

    WVU: Compassion may ease anxieties related to coronavirus

    Practicing social distancing is one way to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, but practicing emotional closeness may help alleviate the anxiety that the coronavirus can provoke.

    Advertisement

    Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, a research assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience, part of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, said that “switching to compassion mode” may be one way to manage that anxiety.

    “When it comes to anxiety—and believe me, I am not exempt—I find that switching to compassion mode is most helpful," Brefczynski-Lewis says.

    "This is true in any situation, but especially so in a large-scale crisis."

    Advertisement

    Brefczynski-Lewis is an expert in compassion meditation, which she calls a technique for getting out of the claustrophobia of self-centeredness, cultivating concern for others and realizing we are not alone in our experience of suffering.

    "You can start with a loved one or yourself and use compassion for your own anxiety or suffering as a springboard to think of the suffering of others in a similar situation. You can wish yourself and others happiness, freedom from suffering, ease or anything positive and helpful.”

    Brefczynski-Lewis has published several peer-reviewed studies dealing with various forms of meditation, mindfulness, and neuroimaging, and has also developed a smartphone app to assist in applying meditation techniques for daily stress relief.

    She regularly leads mindfulness meditation sessions at the and is engaged in research that uses MRI and PET scans and electroencephalograms to reveal activity within the brain.

    Advertisement
    Advertisement
    Advertisement
    Advertisement

    “A review of randomized controlled studies of compassion meditation has shown an effect size that even exceeds antidepressants, and that may carry over to anxiety as well. At the very least, it may stop you from buying all the toilet paper.”


    Sign up to receive a FREE copy of West Virginia Explorer Magazine in your email weekly. Sign me up!
    David Sibray
    David Sibray
    Historian, real estate agent, and proponent of inventive economic development in West Virginia, David Sibray is the founder and publisher of West Virginia Explorer Magazine. For more information, he may be reached at 304-575-7390.

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    Hot this week

    West Virginia Explorer celebrates record 3.3 million monthly users amid 25th anniversary

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Explorer, the state’s most...

    Retro commercial realty for sale near Hatfield-McCoy ATV trails in West Virginia

    PINEVILLE, W.Va. — Once a gathering place for miners...

    West Virginia monitoring seasonal hemorrhagic disease in deer populations

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Cases of hemorrhagic disease in deer...

    West Virginia reminds hunters about upcoming youth seasons, changes to regulations

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With the first slate of youth...

    West Virginia sets new migratory game bird seasons and 2025-2026 regulations

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia has set new season...

    Topics

    Related Articles

    Popular Categories