Hello dear friends of Salengei’s blog, today we will delve into a topic that affects us as a global society and of which we are just discovering the tip of an immense iceberg.
We are referring to the stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the following lines we will get up to date on what the triggers are, what the aggravating factors are and of course our collaboration to improve it.

COVID-19 Syndrome

Logically, after a pandemic, fear remains.
Even long after the disease has been controlled.
For example, this happened in the last century during the famous Spanish Flu.
After a while of the pandemic, people were still panicked to go out on the streets.
In addition, anything that could infect them was distrusted.

Recent conceptualizations of COVID-19-related distress are narrow and one-dimensional.
In the current case, the concerns are mainly focused on the fear of infection.
Especially to the different ways in which each organism can react.

COVID stress disorder, which is considered a pandemic-related adjustment disorder.

Recent research has identified an adjustment disorder related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is called COVID-19 Syndrome and consists of five interrelated elements:

1. Fear of SARSCoV2 infection and coming into contact with objects or surfaces contaminated with the coronavirus (fomites)
2. Fear of the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic
3. Fear of foreigners for fear that they will become infected
4. Compulsive control and reassurance related to the pandemic
5. Symptoms of traumatic stress related to the pandemic.

COVID-19 Syndrome is characterized by clinically significant discomfort and impaired functioning.
It is COVID stress disorder, which is considered a pandemic-related adjustment disorder.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-021-01226-y

The stress that was transformed

At first, in mid-March last year, the world woke up to overwhelming news, the disease was global and advancing by leaps and bounds.

The first fear was related to running out of the necessary food to survive during the confinement ordered by the governments.

As time went by, the stress took on other connotations and became a phobia related to confinement.
People accustomed to only spending the night in their homes had to face a new mandatory habit overnight: staying at home 24 hours a day.
As expected, cases of phobias skyrocketed and divorces were the order of the day.

When the measures began to be relaxed, the cases that increased were those of agoraphobia. After several months of confinement, many people developed an incipient fear of open spaces.
To make matters worse, the issue was enhanced if those spaces concentrated groups of people, which posed a greater risk of contagion.

“Phobia related to confinement and later agoraphobia.”

Consequences of the stress of the pandemic

In general, studies report that seclusion, loss of usual routine, and reduced social and physical contact with others have negative psychological effects.
These include changes or losses in health, self-care, and relationship habits.

“Seclusion, loss of usual routine, and reduced social and physical contact with other people have negative psychological effects.”

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress, confusional syndromes and mood disorders, excessive anxiety disorders, and behavioral disorders may also appear and may persist for months or years later.
DOI: 10.3201/eid1007.030703

So much so that the PsyPan Network, which is made up of scientists and mental health doctors from universities in Canada and the United States, has developed an online algorithm to predict the phenomenon.
Anonymous online screening tools are provided on this website to help identify symptoms of stress and general distress related to COVID-19.
These tools are intended to educate and not to provide a clinical diagnosis: www.coronaphobia.org

Karestan Koenen, a professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Harvard Public Health, explains: “When you see extreme responses, it’s because people feel that their survival is threatened and they need to do something to feel like they’re in control.”

As we already mentioned in another article on the origins of stress, the main objective is to protect us from external dangers that pose a threat to our survival.
When these stimuli are perpetuated over time, pathological consequences appear.

Within these consequences, not only emotional, psychological and psychiatric consequences are counted, but excess stress also brings with it other systemic diseases including acute myocardial infarction, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, high blood pressure and digestive problems, just to name a few.

How do B vitamins help the nervous system?

B vitamins can help relieve symptoms associated with stress, tiredness and fatigue:

• Normal vision maintenance: B2.
• Reduction of tiredness and fatigue: B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 and B12.
• Normal SN performance: B1, B2, B3, B6, B8, and B12.
• Normal psychological function: B1, B3, B6, B8, B9 and B12.

These vitamins are functionally related and cooperate in the synthesis of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, energy production and immune defense.
They also exert numerous effects on brain function.

“B vitamins exert numerous effects on brain function.”

On the other hand, the benefits of fish oil provided by DHA have already been deepened in our article on the special edition of omega-3 and DHA.
As a summary of the post we can say that DHA contributes to maintaining the normal function of the brain and vision.

These essential nutrients are sequestered from the diet and act as coenzymes in various processes.
Generally, B vitamins are synthesized in plants with one exception, cobalamin, which is abundant in red meat and is synthesized by bacteria.

Each B vitamin was shown to be involved in the response against oxidative stress, the most notable being expressed as homocysteine degradation. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.001886

And finally, it is worth highlighting the fundamental role of vitamin E. Several studies have suggested the effectiveness of vitamin E in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and strokes by acting as a powerful antioxidant, especially at the level of beta-oxidation of fats.
DOI: 10.1056

Conclusion

Stress was already part of the long list of “modern” diseases that caused immense expenses in health systems.
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, things got even worse.
There was an increase in cases of stress related to the measures established by governments to alleviate the extremely serious situation that was being experienced.

ACTIVE STRESS CONTROL is a supplement rich in Omega-3 from cold-extracted fish oil (76% DHA in the form of triglycerides) and B vitamins. With respect to B vitamins, it comprises eight components:

• Thiamine (B1)
• Riboflavin (B2)
• Niacin (B3)
• Pantothenic acid (B5)
• Pyridoxine (B6)
• Biotin (B7)
• Folic acid (B9)
• Cobalamin (B12)

“Active Stress Control is indicated to relieve symptoms associated with stress, tiredness and fatigue.”

As always, at Salengei we encourage good health practices and habits that help in the minimization and prevention of diseases.
But sometimes that is not enough and taking supplements that help regulate the body’s own enzymatic reactions is essential.

We hope you liked this article and we will meet again in our next installment.
As always, we read you in the emails and through our social networks.
See you soon!