Managing Coronavirus Anxiety
What do we do with all of this Coronavirus anxiety?? Here are some tips for adults and teens:
Only check the news once a day, and not before bed. For younger teens, consider checking the news only once or twice a week. Only visit trusted sources for COVID-19 updates and advice, like the local health department website and CDC website.
If you’re a parent, keep your own anxiety in check. Reassure your child that we are not panicking because we think we are going to die. Rather we are social distancing as a preventive measure to help make sure the hospitals have enough beds for the small percentage of people who will get sick. Remember: If we all socially distance and nothing exciting happens, that’s the whole point!
Beware social media. Consider taking a Facebook and Instagram break, or like the news, check them only once a day. For teens who are stuck at home, limiting social media may not be the best plan if it means restricting access to their friends who are also a big part of their support system. Talk to your teen to see what makes sense for them. You’d be surprised how many teens are relieved to have an excuse to get offline. For others, they may want to make their own plan on how to best keep themselves from getting overloaded, such as checking less frequently or using some apps instead of others.
Talk about it! Most people, including kids, aren’t actually super anxious about getting sick themselves or about dying from COVID-19. Some are worried about the health of grandparents or older relatives. But I’ve found most people are anxious because anxiety is catchy! When we talk about the things that really are bothering us about all this - falling behind in school, missing work, missing friends, cancelling vacations, having enough food and supplies - it puts our worries into smaller packages that we can deal with a little at a time.
Recognize what you can change, and what you can’t. Feeling out of control and having a lot of uncertainty are the two things that anxiety feeds off of. Focus on the things that you CAN change.
Keep routines! Continue to get up at the same time you would if you had to go to school and into the office, and go to bed accordingly. Structure your time with work tasks, schoowork, meals, whatever you normally would do during the day. Make a schedule and put it on the fridge. Routines are particularly critical for kids who aren’t able to go to school. Routines help minimize anxiety!
Spend time outside. When we stay in the house and all we do is read about illness, we start to feel ill. Get some fresh air, go for a walk in the woods. If you live in an area where you can’t practice social distancing outside because it’s too populated, stream some yoga or exercise videos on YouTube.
For those of you whose anxiety puts you at risk for excessive handwashing or sanitizer use, remember you only have to wash your hands one time with soap and water for 20 seconds and that is enough. Wash as soon as you get home, after you use the bathroom, and before meals. You do not need to wash your hands at home any more than that unless someone in your house has an illness. You should never be using hand sanitizer in your own home if you have running water. If you are out of the house, you may need to use sanitizer after grocery shopping, etc, but you should do so only once per each location you visit.
Laugh! Some of those coronavirus memes are pretty funny, and can help bring some levity to the situation. Watch comedies, not pandemic movies.
FaceTime with people you love. Crisis brings us together - what a great opportunity to reach out and connect with people you haven’t talked to for a while! (Just make sure you are talking about things other than the coronavirus.)
Breathe. Deep breathing calms our nervous system. Have you paused yet today and taken three deep breaths?? Try the 7-11 breath: inhale for a count of 7, and exhale for a count of 11. Or triangle breathing: Inhale 6 seconds, hold it 6 seconds, exhale 6 seconds. Pause and try it right now. Schedule an alarm three times a day to remind you to pause and breathe.
Remember this too shall pass. Life is a pile of uncertainty, and every day brings different things, despite all of our careful planning. We can best manage anxiety by accepting uncertainty and recognizing that not everything can be fixed or needs to be fixed.
If you feel overwhelmed, you can call your therapist and schedule a telehealth session. ❤️
Please note: I am now requiring telehealth video sessions for current clients.
I am unable to accept any new clients at this time.