The COVID-19 crisis, currently occurring throughout the world, has even the most relaxed of individuals concerned. For many though, we are more than just a little unsettled: we’re anxious and we’re fearful about what may play out over the next few months.
Humans like to feel we have control over our lives and so uncertainty can be destabilising. One of the problems with COVID-19 is that we don’t know a lot about it and there can be conflicting information out there on the web. Before you know it, you’ve spent hours in front of a screen, absorbing confronting and conflicting advice. In tandem with social media, exposed to the anxiety of others, we may well have lost the perspective needed to stay calm.
In addition to these fears, a great deal of us are now isolating or in lockdown situations. This brings its own significant challenges. We may be working or studying from home, while also attempting to home school children. Our children might have their own anxieties. Maybe we have lost our incomes and are wondering how to pay the rent. Maybe we are isolated with only ourselves for company.
The reality is that we are going through what is, for a great many, one of the most stressful events of our lives. The stresses are significant and, as described, multi-fold. They will require that we bring our best at a time when we feel we can’t.
But take heart. There is much that can be done to build our capacity for not just coping, but also building life-changing resilience. Some simple tips and strategies can get you there, while making a big difference to how these difficult days are experienced. Below are some tips for managing your COVID-19 related fears and anxieties over the next few months and coming out the other end physically and psychologically intact.
Anxiety is to be expected
Anxiety is a normal response to a real or perceived threat. It’s appropriate you are alert to this new threat. That alertness is what is driving you to become informed and learn what is needed to minimise the threat to yourself and then take the actions you need to take. Do not judge yourself for being anxious. Honour the feeling, thank it even for its role in preparing you.
Take action
Take action to control what can be controlled. This means following important advice like handwashing and social distancing. Both these two things on their own are very effective in limiting virus transmission. Continue to follow the advice of experts and leaders to keep you, your family and the community safe and know that just by doing this, you are making a huge difference. Other useful actions are to keep up a healthy diet (or start one), and get good sleep and ensure some exercise, as these activities fortify our immune system. Remember, when our actions are aligned with our goals, we are empowered.
Perspective
Keep the threat in perspective. Once you feel you have addressed what can be controlled and taken the precautions you can take, it is important to maintain some normality. Limit the time you spend online ‘researching’ the virus. Stick to a couple of reputable sites or tv stations and do not check constantly. Remind yourself, most people recover from the virus or have only mild symptoms and that by following the above steps you are giving yourself —and your community — the best chance. Also, important to keep in mind: this crisis will come to an end. It is temporary and there will eventually be a return to normality.
Structure your day
Routine and structure are your friends. If you are self-isolating or working from home, establish a routine and stick to it. Getting up at the same time each day, getting dressed, allowing time for outdoor exercise and scheduling in (online) contact with friends. A half hour phone call with someone you love will fortify you more than a half dozen rushed texts. If you are working from home, try and stick to your regular work schedule, while taking a walk at lunchtime.
If you have children, home schooling is an extra challenge that may take a couple of weeks or so to find a routine that works for everyone. A tip here is to involve the children in planning what their day routine should be, noting that it should align with their online classes, but understanding this is tough for them too. If they feel they have had a say in what their day looks like and allowed some flexibility, they are more likely to stick to it.
Mindfulness and gratitude
COVID-19 is not business as usual and right now the world can feel a little unfamiliar. This unfamiliarity can send our mind spiralling, as it tries to find order. If you realise this is happening, short circuit that process by recognising your mind is behaving as minds do, then take a mental step backwards by taking four deep breaths and holding each breath for four seconds, exhaling for another four seconds. Focus on where tension is showing up in your body and then allow it to ease. As you relax, remind yourself you are okay. (For more information on how mindfulness can be mastered click here)
If you are not yet familiar with the powerful benefits that come from practising gratitude, this may be the perfect time. Research is available now that confirms the power gratitude has to reduce depression and anxiety and deliver a multitude of psychological, social and physical benefits. Take a diary, notepad or just a piece of paper and write down five good things that happened during the day. At first this can be difficult, if you are not used to it, but it gets easier with practise and is particularly powerful when you can share the process with someone else. Consider finding yourself a ‘gratitude buddy’ and discuss your entries with them at the end of the day, over the phone. (For more information on cultivating gratitude click here)
Look for opportunities
Crises are opportunities for humanity to bring its best. While COVID-19 represents significant worldwide disruption to populations and economies, at the micro level we are having to be creative in how we manage the impact on our own lives. View this disruption as an unexpected opportunity to grow your life in meaningful ways. Maybe this means you’ll re-acquaint yourself with book-reading, spend more time with family, or even teach yourself new skills with online tutorials. Anxiety doesn’t do well when we are fully engaged in something we love.
It’s also well known that helping others can benefit us just as much as the person being helped. Anxiety diminishes when we are taking meaningful actions and opportunities abound at a time like this. For example, checking in on elderly neighbours and seeing if they need some groceries picked up. Look for “Care-mongering” groups on Facebook or other media, that are set up to support the most isolated amongst us. It could mean a phone call to an elderly person living on their own, just to say hello. With more time available, it could mean setting up and co-ordinating your own “care-mongering” online service.
Whatever you do to manage the stress COVID-19 is visiting on us, remember this is temporary. By following these strategies, you will make it through the day a little easier and even come through with increased resilience.
Jo Murphy
Jo Murphy is a qualified writer, editor and practising visual artist, who exhibits in solo and group exhibitions.
She is a once-upon-a-time economist, who continues to enthusiastically engage with economics and politics, and finds these matters inseparable from how the average person lives their daily life.
Jo is, in fact, endlessly curious about other people's lives, specifically the nitty gritty of the challenges life has thrown at them. How someone found their way out of the dark, and then how they used that experience to go on and flourish, is Jo’s creative grist; stories of emotional growth just never get tired for her.
Jo is a mother to two, almost grown up, children and one youngish Whippet. If she had an instagram account it would most likely be devoted to the Whippet or her fabulous succulent garden.
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