Managing Anxiety During the Covid 19 Crisis; Taking an Active Approach

As we all adjust on a daily basis to the news unfolding about Covid 19, feeling unsure, unsettled and downright scared makes sense as a natural reaction to facing the unknown. We are seeing unprecedented changes in the way we interact, work and try to meet our basic needs.

Anxiety can be gripping, like white noise in the background that influences our thoughts, behaviors and emotional responses. Often times anxiety runs around unchecked, we may not realize our anxiety is high until our behavior lets us know. For example, we snap at our loved ones, we can’t focus or concentrate, we judge people harshly, we have trouble sleeping. Worries are also increased and may obviously be on the forefront of our mind. “What if……..(worst case scenario)?”

We Can Take an Active Approach

When working with any sort of emotional spike; due to stress, crisis or mental health concerns, there are things that we do that feed the problem, and things we do that ease our stress. It is time to really focus on what helps and what hinders our ability to cope.

We are living where our thoughts are; notice when you are lost in fear and panic and intentionally bring yourself back to the here and now.

Here are some skills I encourage you to use on a daily basis:

• Get up, get dressed and take care of your hygiene. It helps give a sense of purpose.
• Pick a goal to accomplish – we all feel better when building mastery (make soup, bake something, clean a closet or drawer, make a home made birthday card).
• Move your body – there are many full body, yoga and other movement exercises on line. If you can get out for a walk, run or bike ride while social distancing all the better.
• Eat well and look after your immune system.
• Practice good sleep hygiene to keep up your immunity (no screens or intense exercise 2 hrs prior to bed, create a peaceful bedtime routine, watch caffeine, sleep and wake with regularity).
• Do a daily mindfulness and relaxation practice. Calming our nervous system can not be done enough! Download a mindfulness app like Sanvello, calm or JKZ series.
• Pause and breathe – make a mindful marker to yourself.  Going up the stairs, or washing your hands can be a reminder for mindful breathes and a check in.
• Schedule “worry time” if you are struggling to contain your anxieties. Make an appointment and spend 20 min listing your worries and planning what you will do about them. Then if worry pops up, redirect it back to the scheduled worry time.
• Change your mood with funny/uplifting music and movies or t.v. shows.
• Connect with people face to face if you can. Play cards, games and share love if you have people living with you. If not, connect via FaceTime, ‘whatsapp’ etc. to see those you love and know you are connected and not alone.
• Self soothe using your 5 senses: Actively induce more relaxation with soft music, gentle smells and soothing touch through a bath, brushing your hair or putting on lotion. Look at old photos, mindfully eat a snack etc.
• Use activities to distract: puzzles, shows, crafts, clean, sort something, cook or bake.
• Practice gratitude daily and think of what you can be thankful for; this helps with envy about what you are not doing and how life is not what it was a few weeks ago.

To manage panic: 

• Engage the dive reflex to deal with highest anxiety: get a big bowl with water and 3-4 ice cubes. Plunge your face in 20-30 seconds at least 4 times; hold your breath if you can or breathe out slowly and rhythmically. You can also use frozen veggies, or a gel pack just under your eyes on your face.
• BREATHE; box breathing (inhale 1-2-3-4 Hold 1-2-3-4 Exhale 1-2-3-4- Hold 1-2-3-4)
• Anxiety equation is our perception of threat divided by our ability to cope. Check the facts on our perception of threat (is what we are thinking realistic and true) and what is out plan to cope? For example: read, social distance, wash hands, eat the food we have, actively manage stress, plan activities for connection/learning  etc.

Behaviours to reduce:

• Too much news from unreliable sources. Yes, we need to be informed and we need the facts. However, we need breaks. News will spike anxiety. Take it in manageable doses and limit intake before bed. Make sure you are getting the facts, rather than sensationalist websites and social media. Try turning it off and see how that feels. If you are really anxious, will more news make a difference to what you are already doing to cope?
• Increased use of maladaptive coping. When stress is high, urges can also be high for substances, self injury, binge eating etc. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy stresses the importance of surviving a crisis without making things worse. Increased dependence on unhealthy coping will become one more problem to solve.
• Work on reducing judgements of others and self. Anger and judgement often go hand in hand. Fear is often the primary emotion, anger the secondary. Angry judgements can reinforce our fear. See if you can let go of judgement and enact compassion. Fear makes everyone act in ways that may be unusual. “This is not their character, this may be their fear.”

As we move through this time, also know that social distancing and staying home to flatten the curve and protect each other are signs of solidarity and community cooperation for the greater good. These are positive indicators of our collective intention to cope and help each other out.