Corona and anxiety
Absolutely nothing to do with Corona
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I am pretty sure that my grandparents, were they stillalive, would have shrugged their shoulders, referred to the second world war andcarried on as normal. But I personally can’t remember a time when there hasbeen so much uncertainty, and such a rapidly unfolding situation.
And as anyone who has experienced anxiety knows, uncertaintygenerally makes it a lot worse. With that in mind, there are a couple of thingsto consider.
Media coverage
There is very little else happening right now andjournalists have a lot of internet space and hours to fill. Gone are the dayswhen we read one newspaper in the morning and watched the evening news, insteadit is a 24/7 business. When there is only one story, it is dissected over andover again from every possible angle.
Remembering this is helpful, as is limiting our exposure. Ifyou have updates from news organisations on your phone or tablet, now might bea good time to disconnect them so that you control how much information you receiveand how often you get it. Choose a trusted source and check in with it, but otherwisefree up some headspace for more positive thoughts.
Panic is contagious
You only have look at the supermarket shelves and footage ofpeople fighting in the aisles to realise this. However just because panicspreads, doesn’t mean at all that it is warranted. Take a breath and tune intoyour own experience rather than following others in their response. If younever have cause to buy tinned tomatoes, you’re not going to start cooking withthem now.
The present is a great place to be.
Anxiety robs us of the present moment, it either pulls usback to the past, what we did, what we said, or it constantly projects us intothe future – what if? So, it can help to check in with the present and just becurious about yourself and your surroundings right now, the present is where welive, so try to tune it to it.
Acceptance
The say that life is what happens when we are busy makingplans, and it is really painful when our expectations, for reasons completely outsideour control, are trampled on. I know people are having to re-arrange weddings,trips to see loved ones, exams etc. Really big things that have been looked forwardto and worked towards for a long long time. It stinks, it really does, be angry,sad, whatever it is you feel about it, but then try to move on.
When things are outside our control, the energy that goesinto ruminating about it, is wasted. It changes noting and depletes us. We can learn a lot here from the 12 step programme.Any addict who wants recovery has to stop trying to control their addiction.Admitting they are powerless frees up energy for living a different way, whichis why the serenity prayer guides so many people.
Grant me the Serenity
To accept the things,I cannot change
The courage to changethe things I can
And the wisdom toknow the difference
Covid-19 is way outside of our control, so living withacceptance of that, has got to be easier than fighting against it.
Stay in touch.
We may be forced into physical isolation, but we’re blessedwith skype, zoom, facetime, what’s app and I’m sure, many other ways of keepingin touch through technology. Wasn’t it heart-warming to see Italians connectingthrough music across their balconies and the Spanish joining together in theirisolation to applaud their medics? This is a time to be reaching out andsharing as best we can.
Nature
I’ve just been outside and listened to the bird song for afew minutes. Nature, despite all we do to it, has a way of enduring. I find itcomforting to see the sun rising and falling each day, the flowers coming up. Ifyou can’t get out and experience it for yourself, then consider an app ofnature sounds, or webcams of beautiful sites around the world.
Beauty in nature