As we are hunkering down to wait out the pandemic together but separately we are bombarded with information from all sides about what could/might/is happening right now. All of this, of course, heightens anxiety and increases our fear.
For those living with anxiety disorders, this is a terrific time to be alive. The chaos and disorder that we are all feeling – that overwhelming WHAT IF – is horrible to those who deal with that on a daily basis. There are some easy ways to keep our anxiety in check:
- Walk away from Social Media. So much misinformation is given out through social media platforms and it’s given at lightening speed. It’s hard to discern what’s true or false and easy to start feeling anxious and scared about all of it. Walking away from it for a while relieves that stress. Out of sight, out of mind.
- Avoid watching the news. I’m not saying you shouldn’t keep informed but Covid-19 is the top story on the news 24/7. Watch the news sparingly. Don’t attach yourself to a news outlet and never let go. That will just feed the anxiety.
- Fill your isolation with meaningful time-consuming activities. After a while there are only so many movies you can watch or TV shows to stream. Try journaling your feelings, drawing, playing board games with your family, painting, creating something unique out of whatever you have – just do something different to take up the time. Or do that project you never thought you’d have time to do!
- Get outdoors! Even though we have to stay away from each other we can still take a walk, get out in the yard or just out on the porch. Get some fresh air. It’s good for you!
It’s important to take the self-imposed quarantine seriously. It’s how we keep the number of people who actually get the virus low. But it’s also important to remember to take care of ourselves in all the other ways too. And each other. Because this crisis will pass and when it does we will still have each other.