August 11, 2020 • 8 mins
The notion of a new beginning is a great American tradition. And these days, with Covid-19 upending our work and home lives, reinvention is as much a necessity as wish fulfillment. For advice on creating a new you, we talk to Dr. Suedeepta "Sue" Varma, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the NYU Langone Medical Center.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's something Good
(00:27):
for Today. Reinventing oneself is certainly a great American tradition.
Some of our most famous figures started out with lives
much different than where they ended up. And while somewhat
unexpected and by necessity, the pandemic may be ushering in
a new era of reinvention. The job market is changing rapidly,
(00:49):
work from home requirements, lack of childcare, and shifting responsibilities
are certainly making us rethink the way we live and work.
So how do you reinvent yourself? Today? We're talking to
psychiatrists Sue Varma, a critical assistant Professor of psychiatry at
the n y U Landgown Medical Center. Here's what Dr
Varma had to say. Dr Varmas, thanks so much for
(01:11):
joining us. Thank you so much for him I really
appreciate it. Are there certain techniques that you're recommending or
that you're seeing our effective because it is a lot
of change and it's constant chans pretty quickly. Are there
aspects that you're seeing are more effective in terms of tactics, Yes,
And I would think the number one thing is to
be I think, you know, there's a couple of words
that I want to use. Want to be realistic about
what your goals are. I think that when the pandemics
(01:32):
are started, people were like, great, you have all this
extra time on your hands, and that's really not the case.
What we're seeing is that people are working an hour
and a half to two hours longer per day UM
because they simply don't have those built in UM start
stop measures UM. We're also finding that because people don't
have commute as much as the lamented that when they
exisited UM, the commute to our work, if you had one,
(01:55):
involved a break UH and the commute offered sometimes an
opportunity process information UM to prepare for the day, whether
it was talking to your boss, where it might be
ending your day and providing transition and petitions are an
extremely important part of our day and we don't have
that so much. And we also don't have a break between.
Where does our life begin and uh, you know, the
(02:17):
work and a sort of back and forth. So I
think being realistic about what your goals are. You don't
have to come out with a novel right now. UM.
Being having small measurable goals that's a really big Having
accountability and a support system, it's very important. UM. And
being able to translate skills UM and the and leverage
(02:39):
skills that you already have skills and both connections. What
advice would you give to valancing stress during this time
of reinvention. I'm seeing people who never had a history
of anxiety and depression now having it, and surveys are
showing that anywhere from fist of the population is stealing
increased stress. Anxiety, depression, insomnia on a smoun A sess
(03:00):
for different people different ways, whether it's having more health
anxiety about legitimate concerns about getting COVID or starting it,
or you know, family members seeing quickly they themselves they're recovering.
So we literally have a thousand reasons to be stressed
right now. So I want to normalize to stress. I
want to give it a name. I want people to
be able to understand. The more emotional awareness you have,
the more labeling of your emotions, that you have the
(03:21):
better offer than that you're going to be because we
know that people who can label their emotions are less
likely to feel from trauma after the fact. UM. I
also want to say that we can have a lot
of ambivalence. UM. I've been sharing, you know, with the
people that I've been talking to in my patients, is
this idea that greef and gratitude can co exist. And
this is really hard for people because they're like that,
(03:43):
I don't know. I'm thankful because I'm alive, but at
the same time, life as we know it has ended,
and I don't know how to feel great for what
I have whatever limited to have a boof over my head,
but I'm very stressed out and I don't feel good.
So I say, you know, ambivalence Parada, that everything, everything
is served in right now. And in terms of UM
doing with the stress. There's four things that I talked
(04:04):
about four ends of mental health, and these are ten
minute things that you can work into your daily schedule.
For the four ends are mindfulness, movement, mastery, and meaningful engagement.
And meaningful engagement is real connection, authenticity, vulnerability, being able
to tell people exactly how you feel. You've got to
have at least one trusted person with you when you
(04:26):
can just sort of let everything out and do that
for each other ten or fifteen minutes. But don't spend
too much time. If you spend too much time focusing
on the negative, uh, we end u ruminating and that
can take us down and a bit of depression of anxiety.
And that's what I love what you're doing, if you're
bringing the positive news, because we need that. We need
to focus on positive uplifting. We know what's going on
in the world, and I'm never telling people to to
turn a blind eye to the reality of the injustices
(04:48):
and um you know all of the darkness that that is,
but there is light and there are always is. We
have to focus on that and support one another. So
meaningful engagement is that UM mastery is about what you
were saying about people finding purpose and whether or not
you like it, you know, you don't have to find
purpose and purpose you know time after time and medical
studies that people to have a sense of purpose lived
(05:11):
longer and the healthier UM movement. Whatever you're capable of
doing safically while social distancing, getting out for a walk
by cycling, um, you know, being out of the water,
anything that you can do. Green spaces have common effects
to whether it allows you face socially, just something you
can get outside do it if not in your home.
On somebody who like to take out a phone, rolla
(05:33):
or do some you know whatever. Use an app has um.
You know, there's a lot of sweat sweating one app.
So there's a lot of maps that are others exercise, UM,
push ups plans again, talk to your doctor, don't push
yourself the ideas just need to roll UM. And then
mindful is the last thing. And I was going to
mention that the tools, there's a lot of you know,
trace things out there, YouTube on YouTube, relaxation, dot downloads,
(05:57):
had spacebook, really anything that you can use UM, you know,
deep leaving one minute, meditation, taking a word, focusing on it,
letting your mind go, but keep bringing it back to
that word or to your breath or whatever holds your attention.
But again the four um of mental health on ment
to just serve as a guide and a reminder and
the checklist of like basic things that people can do.
(06:18):
Thank you so much for all that incredible advice. We
will definitely keep in mind before Um, thank you, Jim,
I really appreciated joining me today. That was so helpful.
We all have the potential to take so many different
paths and to live so many different lives. So here's
something good for today. The pandemic is causing a lot
of pain, but it may also present the perfect opportunity
(06:42):
to make the changes you've always wanted to make. We
can all reinvent ourselves in ways big and small, but
remember to keep your goals realistic. Take small, measurable steps
and remember to think about how to leverage your skills.
And if you're feeling stressed now, remember that it's normal
to feel stressed during this time. Here are some small
effective steps we can all take to manage the stress
(07:03):
what Dr Varma calls the four ms Mindfulness, A minute
or so of breathing or meditation, movement, a walk or
any kind of movement can do wonders, mastery, try to
find more purpose in your life and in your work,
and finally, meaningful engagement. We each need to nurture our
relationships and try to connect with a trusted other. So
(07:27):
this week, let's try to remember the four ms as
we try to manage our stress and move positively towards
a new way of living. Have a great day, Thank
you for listening, and please share Today's something Good with
(07:49):
others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co author
of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women. To
learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women dot
com or download the Seneca Women at free in the
app store. Here's Something Good is a production of the
Seneca Women podcast network and I heart Radio. Have a
Great Day. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, check
(08:16):
out the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to this episode of Here's Something Good, a production
of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio.
Each day we aspire to bring you the good news,
the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is
good happening in the world everywhere, every day, we just
need to look for and share it. Here's something Good
(00:27):
for Today. Reinventing oneself is certainly a great American tradition.
Some of our most famous figures started out with lives
much different than where they ended up. And while somewhat
unexpected and by necessity, the pandemic may be ushering in
a new era of reinvention. The job market is changing rapidly,
(00:49):
work from home requirements, lack of childcare, and shifting responsibilities
are certainly making us rethink the way we live and work.
So how do you reinvent yourself? Today? We're talking to
psychiatrists Sue Varma, a critical assistant Professor of psychiatry at
the n y U Landgown Medical Center. Here's what Dr
Varma had to say. Dr Varmas, thanks so much for
(01:11):
joining us. Thank you so much for him I really
appreciate it. Are there certain techniques that you're recommending or
that you're seeing our effective because it is a lot
of change and it's constant chans pretty quickly. Are there
aspects that you're seeing are more effective in terms of tactics, Yes,
And I would think the number one thing is to
be I think, you know, there's a couple of words
that I want to use. Want to be realistic about
what your goals are. I think that when the pandemics
(01:32):
are started, people were like, great, you have all this
extra time on your hands, and that's really not the case.
What we're seeing is that people are working an hour
and a half to two hours longer per day UM
because they simply don't have those built in UM start
stop measures UM. We're also finding that because people don't
have commute as much as the lamented that when they
exisited UM, the commute to our work, if you had one,
(01:55):
involved a break UH and the commute offered sometimes an
opportunity process information UM to prepare for the day, whether
it was talking to your boss, where it might be
ending your day and providing transition and petitions are an
extremely important part of our day and we don't have
that so much. And we also don't have a break between.
Where does our life begin and uh, you know, the
(02:17):
work and a sort of back and forth. So I
think being realistic about what your goals are. You don't
have to come out with a novel right now. UM.
Being having small measurable goals that's a really big Having
accountability and a support system, it's very important. UM. And
being able to translate skills UM and the and leverage
(02:39):
skills that you already have skills and both connections. What
advice would you give to valancing stress during this time
of reinvention. I'm seeing people who never had a history
of anxiety and depression now having it, and surveys are
showing that anywhere from fist of the population is stealing
increased stress. Anxiety, depression, insomnia on a smoun A sess
(03:00):
for different people different ways, whether it's having more health
anxiety about legitimate concerns about getting COVID or starting it,
or you know, family members seeing quickly they themselves they're recovering.
So we literally have a thousand reasons to be stressed
right now. So I want to normalize to stress. I
want to give it a name. I want people to
be able to understand. The more emotional awareness you have,
the more labeling of your emotions, that you have the
(03:21):
better offer than that you're going to be because we
know that people who can label their emotions are less
likely to feel from trauma after the fact. UM. I
also want to say that we can have a lot
of ambivalence. UM. I've been sharing, you know, with the
people that I've been talking to in my patients, is
this idea that greef and gratitude can co exist. And
this is really hard for people because they're like that,
(03:43):
I don't know. I'm thankful because I'm alive, but at
the same time, life as we know it has ended,
and I don't know how to feel great for what
I have whatever limited to have a boof over my head,
but I'm very stressed out and I don't feel good.
So I say, you know, ambivalence Parada, that everything, everything
is served in right now. And in terms of UM
doing with the stress. There's four things that I talked
(04:04):
about four ends of mental health, and these are ten
minute things that you can work into your daily schedule.
For the four ends are mindfulness, movement, mastery, and meaningful engagement.
And meaningful engagement is real connection, authenticity, vulnerability, being able
to tell people exactly how you feel. You've got to
have at least one trusted person with you when you
(04:26):
can just sort of let everything out and do that
for each other ten or fifteen minutes. But don't spend
too much time. If you spend too much time focusing
on the negative, uh, we end u ruminating and that
can take us down and a bit of depression of anxiety.
And that's what I love what you're doing, if you're
bringing the positive news, because we need that. We need
to focus on positive uplifting. We know what's going on
in the world, and I'm never telling people to to
turn a blind eye to the reality of the injustices
(04:48):
and um you know all of the darkness that that is,
but there is light and there are always is. We
have to focus on that and support one another. So
meaningful engagement is that UM mastery is about what you
were saying about people finding purpose and whether or not
you like it, you know, you don't have to find
purpose and purpose you know time after time and medical
studies that people to have a sense of purpose lived
(05:11):
longer and the healthier UM movement. Whatever you're capable of
doing safically while social distancing, getting out for a walk
by cycling, um, you know, being out of the water,
anything that you can do. Green spaces have common effects
to whether it allows you face socially, just something you
can get outside do it if not in your home.
On somebody who like to take out a phone, rolla
(05:33):
or do some you know whatever. Use an app has um.
You know, there's a lot of sweat sweating one app.
So there's a lot of maps that are others exercise, UM,
push ups plans again, talk to your doctor, don't push
yourself the ideas just need to roll UM. And then
mindful is the last thing. And I was going to
mention that the tools, there's a lot of you know,
trace things out there, YouTube on YouTube, relaxation, dot downloads,
(05:57):
had spacebook, really anything that you can use UM, you know,
deep leaving one minute, meditation, taking a word, focusing on it,
letting your mind go, but keep bringing it back to
that word or to your breath or whatever holds your attention.
But again the four um of mental health on ment
to just serve as a guide and a reminder and
the checklist of like basic things that people can do.
(06:18):
Thank you so much for all that incredible advice. We
will definitely keep in mind before Um, thank you, Jim,
I really appreciated joining me today. That was so helpful.
We all have the potential to take so many different
paths and to live so many different lives. So here's
something good for today. The pandemic is causing a lot
of pain, but it may also present the perfect opportunity
(06:42):
to make the changes you've always wanted to make. We
can all reinvent ourselves in ways big and small, but
remember to keep your goals realistic. Take small, measurable steps
and remember to think about how to leverage your skills.
And if you're feeling stressed now, remember that it's normal
to feel stressed during this time. Here are some small
effective steps we can all take to manage the stress
(07:03):
what Dr Varma calls the four ms Mindfulness, A minute
or so of breathing or meditation, movement, a walk or
any kind of movement can do wonders, mastery, try to
find more purpose in your life and in your work,
and finally, meaningful engagement. We each need to nurture our
relationships and try to connect with a trusted other. So
(07:27):
this week, let's try to remember the four ms as
we try to manage our stress and move positively towards
a new way of living. Have a great day, Thank
you for listening, and please share Today's something Good with
(07:49):
others in your life. This is Kim Azzarelli, co author
of Fast Forward and co founder of Seneca Women. To
learn more about Seneca Women, go to Seneca Women dot
com or download the Seneca Women at free in the
app store. Here's Something Good is a production of the
Seneca Women podcast network and I heart Radio. Have a
Great Day. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, check
(08:16):
out the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
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