If you live any where in the world and you’ve tuned into TV, radio or internet news, you can’t help but to hear details about the COVID-19 virus. The news these days seems to be bad, really bad or particularly awful, with little or no positive news to be found and very little balance in the reporting.
With such a crisis right at our front doorsteps, it’s hard not to be stressed, and whether that stress is related to fear of you or a family member getting sick or the fear of what the virus is doing to your job or retirement, the fear is very real. How you cope with this heightened anxiety and what strategies you employ to combat the stress can be key to surviving the mental side of COVID-19.
For me the first remedy is to stop paying hour-by-hour attention to the news, especially the negative and fearful news. In the end you can’t do much with the news but generate more fear and stress. Focus on targeted news specifically about what you can do, and not on numbers of infected or deaths related to the virus. Spend your time learning how best to protect you and your family and if you need numbers, focus on the number of healed or number of negative COVID test results.
Next up you should find a way to make productive use of your free or work-from-home time. Learn a new skill like baking or painting, or start working your way down that list of home improvement projects you never seem to get to. Keeping busy and productive and forcing your mind to focus on other things will all go a long way toward forgetting about the negativity and the fear.
Perhaps most important is to remain connected to your friends and family. Even though you maybe can’t see them in person, there are all sorts of cell phone-based and computer-based ways to connect, to talk, and to even see each other. If we remain connected with the important people in our lives, suddenly the daily fear and anxiety will seem less and you can talk out your stress so you won’t feel so alone or isolated.
Finally and even more important is to recognize when it is time to seek help. This may be different for every person, but there are therapy resources available and many are also available remotely by phone or internet. If the fear and anxiety are just too much, reach out for help. A good source for help is this mental-health focused website https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/can-i-afford-to-see-a-counselor-how-much-does-therapy-cost
Remember that in these difficult times and environments, there are not only a lot of strategies to minimize the anxiety, but there are also resources out there just waiting to help you.
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