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"Feeding the Dog"

Writer's picture: Dr. Vikram S PanwarDr. Vikram S Panwar

During the midst of COVID pandemic many individuals have had a significant increase in symptoms of anxiety. The pandemic naturally stimulates fear of the unknown and fear of the lack of control. These are universal fears and are not pathological in nature, but rather meant to keep us safe at this time. However, for some these fears can create anxiety that can become impairing.


I sometimes refer to anxiety as a dog. We love our pets and yet they take training. If we feed scrap food to dogs, they continue to come and beg for food, eat our food, until they eat our meal. Feeding the dog during COVID may include things like: consuming too much media, obsessive decontaminating, and social isolation to an extreme.


We need to treat anxiety like we would the dog… train it! Put the dog in the kennel during meal times. For instance, putting a media ban on yourself or setting a timer to limit the amount of media you consumed. I also suggest making sure the information you consume is factual and from a reliable source rather than general social media. You may also challenge cleaning by only allow yourself one shower a day, cleaning home products and areas one time per day and setting a timer for the length of time engaged in cleaning. As far as social isolation, we need to follow the recommendations of the government, but we also need to make sure we spend 30 minutes outside on balcony/Terrace. We can use technology to see our friends and family.


So no matter the “type of dog” you are managing, please don’t give it your dinner. Self-care and food during this time is critical. Rather, begin to train your dog to go to the kennel during meal times.





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