Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Summer 2020

of public places and practicing good hand hygiene—even if you are healthy. We each play a part in how quickly or slowly the virus moves through our community. I know hunkering down is sometimes scary and lonely and can feel like it’s not making a difference, but each day that we can slow down transmission is another day to learn more about how to effectively defeat this virus; it’s another day to restock personal protective equipment to keep our medical professionals safe; and it could be the day that one critically ill patient recovers from the disease in time to free up medical resources to treat the next person. Q. What is your key wellness advice to those on the local front lines of this global pandemic? A. I keep coming back to stress. Often we are afraid of stress; when we feel anxious, we try to bat it away like a fly buzzing around our head. But this is an especially appropriate time to feel stressed—many of our lives have been turned upside down, there’s a palpable threat to our well-being, and the future is uncertain. If you feel stressed, your body is doing exactly what it should be doing. The good news is that stress can be beneficial—if we perceive it as such. Kelly McGonigal has a great TED Talk on this—she explains that when we think of stress as a response designed to help us, it actually benefits our body instead of harming it. Did you know that part of the stress response involves the pituitary gland pumping out oxytocin? Yes, the same “lovey-dovey” hormone released when parents cuddle their newborn babies—it makes us more empathetic and pushes us to reach out to our support networks when we need it most. Oxytocin also protects the cardiovascular system—it’s a natural anti- inflammatory, helping blood vessels stay relaxed during stress and helping heart cells heal from stress-induced damage. So the next time you feel anxious about the coronavirus, think of your pounding heart as your body preparing you for action, and your faster breathing as a way to get more oxygen to your brain. Your body is simply preparing you to connect with others (from a safe distance), act and respond. TAKE THE FIRST STEP Looking for away to boost your well-being? It can be as simple as stepping out your front door. Visit www.bartletthospital.org/walk to learnmore. PROTECTING JUNEAU, PROTECTING YOU —Continued from page 5 6 House Calls Summer 2020