Week 3: Negative Nancy

Monday, April 6, 2020
by Sam Vandekerckhove

Over the past few weeks I've noticed a shift in my thinking patterns. It wasn't entirely obvious at first, and was likely influenced by the constant stream of garble and disappointment hitting me from every possible angle and every fathomable source. It was more apparent last week than the week before. This weekend it made itself completely evident. I've been more edgy than usual; more cautious than not; and more... well... angry in general! I've slid from having a positive, optimistic outlook into a wallow of negativity, pessimism, fear, and doubt. Feelings of apathy and indifference are starting to surface, and I'm beginning to seriously doubt my own competencies and abilities. I'm not feeling OK - I haven't been for awhile now. But I'm starting to realize, that too, is actually OK...

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress"

Frederick Douglass

Negativity is a familiar bedfellow for most of us, and today's world is full of negative these days! It's understandable to be impacted by it. Normal even. Our brains have negativity set as the default and if we simply cruise on autopilot the ride is bound to be unenjoyable and unpleasant. Who cares if you don't have your arms in legs inside the ride? You're not going to have fun anyway!

In keeping with this disappointing theme, unfortunately, it is with utmost distaste, disdain, and regret that we announce this week's blog post will touch on such depressingly irritating topics as negativity, biases, and the tedious, difficult, unpleasurable reality of not being OK(oh bother). I wrote that in Eeyore's voice. 

Check out the drop-downs below for this week's info. If you ever need to chat, scream, or yell, ENGWellness is here for you!

Error: Failed to boot positiveos!

We all have negative thoughts - that is, thoughts which cause emotional distress, worsen our moods, undermine our abilities, paint our futures in dark tones, encourage destructive behaviours, and even prevent or hinder personal growth. They can be automatic, created without stimulus or prompts. They can be situational or dependent on how long that obnoxious fool is going to keep hoarding that study spot! Our tendency to pay attention to negativity isn't a recent phenomena either. Some of you may have heard the term negativity bias. As a species, it benefited us greatly to keep an eye on that tiger, bear, or be weary of the coming storm. Early humanity likely felt most things 'negative' would result in a timely demise, so it's no wonder it's our go-to way to feel when anything doesn't feel right. 

Just because something is there doesn't mean it can't change! Here's some useful info to explore regarding the somewhat difficult subject:

If you're not OK and you know it, clap your hands!

An engineering student's life isn't necessarily easy on the best of days. Given the number of different impacts COVID-19 has brought about, there are now hundreds of other concerns on top of the usual academics, progression, job security, and research. Not to mention concerns about physical health and safety too (something a lot of us here in Canada haven't experienced much of). Most students I've spoken with are not doing OK right now. I would argue most of us aren't! But remembering, at least for now, that we are in a state of emergency due to a global pandemic, makes not being OK a little bit more OK, right? 

Letting yourself feel is an important ingredient for self-compassion. It's OK to not feel OK all the time and here's some info to support that notion:

Cloudy thinking with cognitive biases

Aside from being plagued with negative thoughts as a result of the Coronavirus, we humans are also subject to the influence of our less than stellar logic from time to time. When we have a predisposition to negativity as a default, coupled with everyday engineering student stressors, and then a pandemic on top - well, our thinking is likely to be impacted. In ENGWellness we're very familiar with the concept of cognitive bias - a systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgement - likely because we too fall victim to them more often than we want. Although there is no magic pill solution, building your awareness about these frequent faults in logic can help you catch them before they have an impact. Here's 10 common one's we've seen in Engineering:

common thinking errors

(Connect with us at ENGWellness@uwaterloo.ca for the full sized image) 

For more information on cognitive biases:

ENGWellness Recommendations

Staying Active

Staying Informed

Staying Well

ENGWellness also has a series of videos that we've uploaded to YouTube to help support you all. Here's more for this week:

Previous Videos:

Don't forget that ENGWellness is here to support you! You can always book a remote meeting with your Student Wellness Coordinator!

E-ntertainment

Like most of us, I've pretty much exhausted what the internet can offer me in terms of entertainment (*packs up, goes home*).

I hope that you could sense the sarcasm in that one. Given the multitudes of recommendations for what to provide for this week's E-ntertainment, I've decided to focus on a fairly unknown little site that, interestingly enough, provides you with the ability to watch videos that others made from your computer! The Future Is Now, Right?! Ok - dropping the satire now. Here's what should be playing in YourTube:

Thanks again for taking the time to read, and please let us know if you have anything you would like to see covered or anything you would like us to share in a future post! Connect with us at: engwellness@uwaterloo.ca. 

Stay Safe and Healthy!

-- Sam and Renate