COVID-19 and Anxiety

As some have requested, here is a short summary of some general guidance for dealing with anxiety. Let’s skip the explanation of what anxiety is and go straight to some practical tips for keeping anxiety under control. This isn’t comprehensive list and each point is fairly brief but it will hopefully give you an idea of what you can do during our current situation.

Try breathing exercises: when people feel anxious, stressed or are panicking they often have rapid, shallow breathing which is one of the body’s responses to danger, known as the fight or flight response. Try to notice how you are breathing when you are anxious or having a panic attack. Most likely you will notice that you are taking shallow breaths, or even holding your breath when you have stressed thoughts. Practice abdominal breathing where your stomach expands and your chest rises minimally. Your breathing should be close to normal. What is normal? Imagine that you are breathing when you are relaxing on the beach or immersed in the beauty of the Peak District. Allow your body to relax and take deep, full breaths.

Understand what makes you anxious - identify what external stimuli is causing your distress. Is it your children’s health, your finances, the online content you’re consuming, news articles or certain conversations with friends? Take action on it, reduce the amount of negative or fearful information you are consuming. Identifying your triggers can take time and requires self reflection.

Try to look at the big picture: often during panic attacks or a period of anxiety people are focusing on negative thoughts. However, this doesn't mean that the answer is to just replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Simply using positive thinking can be unrealistic, for example, thinking that 'I or my loved ones will not be affected by coronavirus, and that everything will be fine' is not realistic. A more realistic picture would be to think, ‘Yes, I or my loved ones may get coronavirus. However we have strong immune systems and we are being cautious. If we do contract the virus we have a very high chances of surviving'. However if this is not the case and you are in a high risk group, what is your bigger picture? You could think about the action you are taking to reduce your risk, for example, that you're self isolating or taking vitamins to strengthen your immune system, rather than dwelling on the fact that you’re in a high risk group.

Exercise - this will release endorphins and has a big impact on our mental state. Try going for a walk if you are not self isolating, or, if you have to stay home then try finding some online resources to help get yourself moving.

Eating well - getting a balanced and varied diet. Avoiding caffeine and alcohol despite their temporary stress release effects they give will help as their long term effect is the opposite.

Getting enough sleep - having good quality sleep on a regular basis is important. While getting good sleep can be hard when your thoughts are anxious or stressed, wind-down routines before bed, getting exercise, breathing techniques, avoiding caffeine in the afternoon and staying connected with people may all be things that could help you relax and get the sleep you need.

Stay connected with people: this provides a support group and it helps you to not get trapped in your own thought-life. Make sure that your main connections are with people who love and care for you. Thanks to modern-day technology we can observe government advice to practice social distancing and self isolation while being able to maintain meaningful contact with those we love.

Be present in the here and now: take time to notice your current environment and current sensations and appreciate them. Listen to your children laugh, savour the taste of the food you’re eating, the warmth of the sun on your skin, the sound of the traffic or the texture of your clothes. This helps ground you in the present, rather than allowing yourself to be consumed by fearful thoughts of what might happen in the future.

Daily routine - try to make an extra effort during this time to have a daily routine where, for example, you get out of your pajamas, put makeup on or shave, exercise, eat at normal times, give time for leisure activities, reading and staying connected with people. Don’t just stay in bed and watch Netflix all day. These routines and self-care tell our brains that life is continuing in a normal way.

I hope you found this list helpful. Looking back in history we know that every crisis comes to end. The powerful thing is in how we respond to trials in our lives. Often we can’t change circumstances but we definitely are in control of how we view them and how we respond. I am so encouraged by the kindness of people I see around me. Thank you to each of you for doing your part.