We’ve been wrestling with what even to say. No matter what we say, it’s likely to sound trite. I saw a meme the other day about therapists teaching mindfulness to the orchestra members on the titanic. That’s kind of what it feels like….stupid.
But truth be told it’s not stupid.
Prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications have gone up 34% during the COVID-19 pandemic. But we don’t really need statistics to recognize that this whole situation has caused us all to be more anxious.
Will I get the coronavirus?
What if I do?
Will someone I love get it?
What will happen then?
If I get sick who will take care of me?
How will they do that without getting sick?
How will I get food?
How long will this go on?
What will the world look like when this is over?
What will I do for money if I lose my job?
Is the economy going to tank?
Will we be in another great depression?
Did I remember to wash my hands after I touched that thing?
Is that person 6 ft away from me?
What if I run out of toilet paper?
It’s so easy for our minds to spin out of control and stay stuck in obsessive thought patterns. This can cause acute anxiety, panic attacks and/or depression.
Which is exactly why taking care of our mental and emotional well-being is vitally important right now. It’s not difficult to recognize that minds that are spinning, obsessing, panicking, or depressed are not helpful. We don’t do our best thinking when we are stuck there.
We are all in a position that feels pretty helpless in many ways. These kinds of thoughts are going to pop into our head. We can’t really control what pops into our head. We can, however, control how much we entertain those thoughts and what we focus on. Instead of focusing on what we can’t control; let’s pay more attention to what we can control.
We can control our inputs:
- We need to stay informed about the basics; but watching or listening to news or related things 24/7 will put our mind into overdrive!
- We can’t stay stuck in the “snowstorm mentality” – Pretending we will be back out in a day consuming much more food, more junk food and/or more alcohol than we normally would.
- Stay connected (as much as possible within social distancing guidelines)! Relational “inputs” are a fundamental ingredient in mental and emotional health. Call, facetime, zoom, text…do whatever it takes to stay connected.
- Sleep! Get plenty of rest and try to maintain a normal sleep schedule. This is really hard because our entire schedule is out of whack…but it’s super important for both mood and healthy immunity.
We can control our outputs (what we do):
- Move! While it’s not necessary to go into overdrive, it is helpful to not spend our whole day on the couch watching Netflix. Walk, run, dance…whatever…get at least some small amount of movement.
- Go outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. Not only is this good for our brains, it’s good for our immune system.
- Learn and/or create something new. Breakout the fingerpaints if you have to! These use parts of our brain that are not where the anxiety lives…so it helps reduce your brain’s stress response.
To be clear, these aren’t rules! We do not want to add to your stress by giving you a big ol’ to do list. These are ideas. Use your own creativity. What’s important is that we regularly assess our mental and emotional state and tweak what we’re doing if it’s not working.
Take care of you (in the midst of and in spite of a pandemic!)…
