Infections. Deaths. Racism. Brutality. Rioting. Looting. Shooting. Killing. It seems today’s headlines herald terrible news that the world we live in is in utter chaos. If you’re like me, you’re probably feeling somewhat frazzled by it all. And if you’re a news junkie, you may even be feeling downright depressed! There’s actually a name for that feeling.

Psychologist Steven Stosny originally coined the term election stress disorder to describe the feeling of anxiety caused by the onslaught of news surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Stosny later renamed the condition headline stress disorder when the anxiety persisted past the election. The term is pretty fitting for what’s happening today as well, don’t you think?

Headline stress disorder reflects the fact that to grab attention, news headlines often use words that create fear or anger in readers. Stosny recommends reading past the headline. Typically, once you read on and get all the facts, the situation being reported is not as awful as the headline portends.

But today’s news is stressful beyond the headlines. And we must learn to deal with stress in our lives because it can have a profound effect on our physical and mental health.

Stress is a natural response to life experiences. In potentially threatening situations, your central nervous system reacts to stress by initiating the “fight or flight” response. Your CNS triggers your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which increase heart and breathing rates and send blood to your organs and muscles to prepare them for action.

Ideally, when the threat is over, your body returns to a normal, relaxed state called homeostasis. But with chronic stress, your body remains hyped up on stress hormones. This can lead to symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, depression, headaches and insomnia.

Chronic stress can also elevate blood pressure, cause chest pain and sexual problems and worsen symptoms of existing diseases, including heart disease, cancer and lung disease. It’s also been linked to low back pain, inflammatory bowel disease, changes in women’s menstrual cycles and structural changes in the brain leading to memory, thinking and learning difficulties.

Some people living with chronic stress develop unhealthy behaviors as a way of coping. They may misuse food, alcohol, tobacco or drugs, or gamble compulsively, engage in sex, shop or use the internet excessively. Unfortunately, these behaviors tend to cause more stress rather than relieve it. It becomes a vicious cycle.

Today, we’re bombarded with a nearly constant flow of news about COVID-19 and the riots surrounding the George Floyd protests. And the bad news is keeping some in a state of chronic stress beyond headline stress disorder. The American Psychological Association notes that a few lessons learned from past disasters are applicable to what’s happening now.

We’ve learned that social media may escalate anxiety more than traditional media, but too much media of any kind can undermine mental health. Also, it was found that trustworthy information sinks in. The bottom line: you can stay informed of events, but be sure to find authoritative sources and be mindful of how much time you’re absorbed in the news.

To help you tune out the bad news for a while, set a limit on how much time you spend looking at the news on TV or on your social media on your phone or computer. This can give you a chance to relax from headline stress disorder and allow your body’s stress response to return to homeostasis.

You can also benefit by engaging in stress management. Regular exercise is a good way to manage stress in your life, as is spending time with your friends and family. Practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing and yoga can also help with stress. If you find that you can’t handle stress on your own and it’s affecting your health, seek professional help.

It’s important that you take care of yourself, especially if you feel stressed about the latest headlines. Self-care enhances your nervous system’s response to stress, and that improves your physical health and overall wellbeing. And when you feel good, you can better handle the negative impact of headline stress disorder and whatever crises are in the news.

With seniors among the most vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus, retirement communities are having to step up their efforts to keep residents safe. The real trick, though, lies in not just keeping residents safe but in maintaining a sense of normalcy within such communities.

One community that has managed to meet those two objectives is Hibiscus Court of Melbourne, where the new normal can best be described as a virtual normal. For example, in place of personal visits from family members, Hibiscus Court is conducting virtual visits using video conferencing software such as Zoom.

“We’ve all seen the viral posts of people meeting at windows, and we started with that, but we’ve actually found that it’s better for our residents and their families to have these meetings through Zoom,’’ says Charisse Durham, director of sales and marketing at Hibiscus Court of Melbourne.

“So what we’re doing is teaching the families how to use the Zoom technology, and once we’ve done that, we set up a Zoom meeting for them. During that visit, we are there with the resident to help them navigate through it or translate if they have any trouble hearing or seeing their family members. It’s working out really well.”

Another example of the new virtual normal at Hibiscus Court of Melbourne took place last week, when the community changed up its regular Rolling With Laughter event. When the Hibiscus comedy troupe, “Off Their Rockers” had to cancel its event, the community held a virtual Rolling with Laughter event.

“We accepted submissions from residents, family members, referral sources and care partners,” Charisse explains. “All of them sent in different jokes and we had several different showings for small groups where our programming director and residents presented the jokes.

“It went over very well, and for some of our residents who could not attend one of the showings, we went to their rooms and shared the jokes with them individually. We also printed some of the jokes that were short and sweet and took photos of our residents with the joke and a smile then posted them on our Facebook page to share them that way.”

One of the biggest challenges retirement communities now face comes at meal time, when residents typically gather en masse to dine and socialize. Social distancing guidelines prohibit such mass gatherings, however, so at Hibiscus Court of Melbourne, residents are now served the same meals they would receive in the dining room in their own suites or in small, adequately spaced common areas.

That said, socializing is not a thing of the past at Hibiscus Court of Melbourne. Just as it did with its comedy show, the community now conducts several exercise and activity periods each day where small groups of six residents gather and participate while maintaining a safe social distance from one another.

“Another thing we did recently was hold a virtual 99^th birthday party for one of our residents,’’ Charisse explains. “We also had a no-contact pet parade, where local participants came and walked their dogs around our parking lot and we let our residents know so they could watch from their rooms or at a safe distance.”

It’s not just the residents of Hibiscus Court of Melbourne who are getting special attention during these difficult times. The community’s staff members, who are working extra hard each day to ensure residents are safe and comfortable, have not been forgotten.

“We’ve had families provide lunch for the entire team; other families have sent gourmet caramel apples or bulk boxes of treats,” Charisse reports. “They know our team works tirelessly to provide the best care for their loved ones. Many families’ have taken the opportunity to say thank you. Even though we’re not in a hospital or skilled setting, we are providing health care and life care and many are working additional hours and occasionally double shifts.

“Our leadership team is also committed to thanking our direct caregivers daily with some item of appreciation. Somebody every day is doing something to say thank you to our team, because they know that we’re here trying to protect people and that our care team also has to take additional measures to protect themselves and their families when they leave, because they can’t bring the virus back into our community.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone but everyone is pitching in and doing what they can to help each other out. The dedication to our residents’ care and the creativity in that is truly remarkable. I’m inspired every day.”

The “Hats 4 Heros” program was started by Dr. Joseph Magnant of Vein Specialists and his wife Patty.

Patty Magnant was already busy sewing scrub hats for some local hospital nurses when her husband, a Fort Myers vascular surgeon, learned just how critical the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) caused by the coronavirus really is.

“My sister is an emergency room doctor and she shared with me that at hospitals everywhere right now, they’re running low of surgical hats, gowns and masks,” shares Joseph Magnant, MD, FACS, RPVI.

“That’s their equipment and they need it badly, and that got Patty and I thinking that we should start making more of these reusable cloth scrub hats for the nurses and doctors in the ERs and ICUs.”

Dr. Magnant, the founder and CEO of Vein Specialists, which is dedicated to the minimally invasive treatment of leg vein disorders and has offices in Fort Myers and Bonita Springs, began his initiative in early April.

He is one of a host of medical professionals across the state of Florida who are devoting time to helping others during the coronavirus crisis, and within days of he and his wife beginning their initiative, it was already expanding.

“So our initial thought was to make these surgical hats that were more durable, that the doctors and nurses could take home and

Dr. Joseph Magnant is using his surgical skills to produce personal protective equipment for medical professionals fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

wash and wear the next day,” Dr. Magnant explains. “But then we came up with another idea, another way to help out during this crisis.

“When the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) came out the other day and suggested that people start wearing face coverings whenever you’re outside of the home, we came up with a way to make those as well.”

Dr. Magnant’s idea for a face covering was inspired by the buffs he’s seen at area sporting goods stores. He and Patty made their first few “re-buffs’’ out of old t-shirts but soon began making them out of a better grade of material they purchased online.

“They’re tubular knit cloths that you can pull up and cover your mouth and nose with,” Dr. Magnant says. “We gave the first few away to friends and neighbors and my parents, and now we’re making them to sell to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“I’ve supported the Ronald McDonald House Charities for years, and because volunteers are not allowed to help them cook meals at this time, what they really need right now is money. So, we came up with this idea that we’re calling Hats 4 Heros.”

Every $10 donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida, Hats 4 Heros will donate one hand-sewn surgical cap to a doctor or nurse fighting on the front lines against the coronavirus.

Through the Hats for Heros program, Vein Specialists will donate one hand-sewn surgical scrub hat to an emergency and acute care medical professional somewhere in Southwest Florida for every $10 donated to the Ronald McDonald House charities.

For every $5 donation to the Ronald McDonald House charities, Vein Specialists will donate a hand-sewn Re-Buff to anyone in need of facial protection. A $5 donation can feed one family in need, while a $10 donation can feed two families.

“My expertise is in cutting the patterns,” Dr. Magnant says of his role in the production of the hats and buffs. “Patty does the sewing, and like anything it takes time, but it’s starting to take off.”

Patty and Dr. Magnant have also started a GoFundMe account in an attempt to bring awareness to their cause. It can be found at gofundme.com.