5 WAYS TO MANAGE STRESS AND ANXIETY
April 26, 2020
The mood is shifting. In conversations with clients and with friends and family, we seem to have moved from the shock and awe place of when COVID-19 first began to a very different place. Some are finding a new rhythm, while many others are sitting in places of frustration, hopelessness, anxiety, and stress. With those new places, I worry about the people around me, the community that I am in, the broader communities we are connected to.
As this continues, and we remain physically distanced from the people in our lives, hyper-vigilant about typical activities, such as grocery shopping, and worrying about our work and financial situations, I wonder what the fallout is going to be on the mental health front. The focus has been on physical health, and rightly so. Our health care system and the many front line workers that are both the pillars of that system and working diligently to maintain our essential services have focused on maintaining the physical health of our communities. In the meantime, our mental health is being significantly impacted.
Some of the comments I have heard from others or see on social media speak to
· Suspicion of other people
· Anxiety and panic at the prospect of going into a store
· Social isolation from the meaningful connections in our lives
· Uncertainty
· Hopelessness
· Anger and frustration with the system, with others, with their families
· Decrease in mood, possible depression
· Challenging relationships with the people they live with (e.g. more time with partners and children)
· Stress
I think everyone experiences some of these things at some point in their lives. Part of the human condition is experiencing the full spectrum of emotions. This is normal. However, the challenge to our mental health comes when these are prolonged. The longer we sit in these hard places, the more challenging it can be to shift them, the stronger the feelings can become.
Interrupting those feelings or making sure that you have the tools to manage the emotions will help you keep them in check. If I throw a pop bottle down the stairs and then open it, it will explode, and I will have a big mess. If the bottle rolls down a couple of steps, it will likely fizz, but not explode. If I twist the cap a bit to release the pressure, I can roll the bottle down a bit more and it still won’t explode. In fact, if I roll the bottle, release the pressure, roll the bottle, release the pressure, and repeat until I get to the bottom, I can get there without the bottle exploding.
Here are 5 strategies that you can use quickly and easily with a little bit of prep work to support your mental health and “release the pressure” for yourself.
1) Create a short mantra that you can repeat to yourself and connect to what is important to you or invites in the things you want to have present (e.g. Peace, Patience, Calm).
2) Find a small item you can carry with you (e.g. a rock, paper clip, small toy, etc.), notice how it looks and feels when you are calm and associate that calm feeling with that item. When feeling anxious, hold it in your hand and just notice how it feels and remember the calm association.
3) Mindfulness to help ground yourself in the moment and calm the physiological arousal of anxiety – breathing, body scan, environment scan, etc.
4) Engage with all of your senses through an activity called 54321 (5 things you see, 4 things you feel/touch, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste). This connects you to your body, distracts you from the thoughts, giving you distance from them, and helps decrease the intensity of the thoughts and feelings.
5) Visualize yourself sitting on a river bank. In the river there are leaves floating by. Imagine that each of your anxious thoughts is sitting on a leaf and watch the leaves float down the river allowing them the space to be acknowledged and the time and distance to reduce their intensity.
If you are finding yourself struggling with any of these things and need to talk to someone please reach out to your support system or a professional. I am taking new clients and offering video sessions at this time.
Stay well!
L