Coping with anxiety during the covid-19 pandemic
Let me tell you, if it’s one thing that this pandemic has brought out, it’s my anxiety.
It isn’t even just a particular type of anxiety, I get a nice little variety pack. I feel anxious about catching this virus or someone close to me catching it. This type of anxiety brings on that nagging feeling of paranoia. The response, I am literally afraid to leave my home under any circumstances or to even be around others. If I’m completely transparent I’ve had moments where I broke down just thinking about this pandemic and the lives that were affected on so many different levels. It truly is something that not only was I not prepared for but at first didn’t know how to properly navigate through those feelings.
The next flavor of this anxiety variety pack, is being anxious about my future. Now this one can come as a regular flavor of the month sometimes, but it’s packaged a little different during the current time. The uncertainty of not knowing when I’ll be able to travel mask free, enjoy hobbies that I once could do so willingly or even just the planning ahead of anything is enough to leave you with so many questions. Those questions turn into invading thoughts that make me worry about all that you’ve missed out on or will miss out on.
So what’s the solution? Well let me be the first to point out that all of these feelings are completely normal right now. I can’t stress that enough because that’s such a major factor with anxiety. You believe that you’re alone in your feelings and sometimes that no one will understand. That’s what those negative thoughts want you to believe and I’m here to tell you different.
The first thing to really recognize is that there needs to be a form of acceptance that there are events that happen in our life that we can’t control, we can only control how we respond to it. When you’re mindful of what you give your thoughts and energy to it helps ease those moments of anxiety.
For me I have somewhat been able to manage these moments and I say somewhat because we are not always perfect. I find that journaling has helped me get through these moments and it’s best when I do this near a body of water, like the beach for example. Being away from all the noise and chaos of the world really allows me to see things clearer and focus on what I have control over. Another way to cope are breathing exercises and meditation, sometimes I do these activities at the beach as well. In addition, taking a break from social media and electronic devices is another way to disconnect and cope with anxiety. During these times we are getting fed a lot of information at once, whether it be the negative that is going on in the news or comparing your life to others. Being a content creator sometimes it’s difficult for me to shut off my social media but I have learned to make my mental health a priority. If what you’re watching is leaving you with overwhelming thoughts, take that break or maybe limit your time.
Now everyone’s solution to anxiety is going to be different and I am always going to suggest if these symptoms tend to become overwhelming please seek professional help. We are not meant to do life on our own and there are lot of resources there to help, don’t feel ashamed.
