Set limits around news on COVID-19
Try to avoid excessive exposure to media coverage. Constant monitoring of news updates and social media feeds about COVID-19 can intensify feelings of worry and distress.
Recognize your stress
Have you been noticing a spike in your stress as a result of COVID-19? If so, you certainly aren’t alone. Pandemics are not declared lightly, and an increase in your stress is actually a normal response. Stress is a normal part of life. It is a natural response to an external pressure that disrupts your equilibrium. It often causes symptoms such as:
· Sadness, confusion, irritability, anger, uneasiness, and suicidal thoughts
· Reduced concentration, efficiency, and productivity
· Social withdrawal and isolation
· Interpersonal problems (e.g., lies, defensiveness, communication concerns)
· Tension (e.g., headaches, jaw clenching, teeth grinding)
· Body pain (e.g., headaches, muscle spasms)
· Reduced energy (e.g., tiredness, weakness, fatigue)
· Sleeping problems (e.g., insomnia, nightmares)
Therefore, if you skip the phase of acknowledging that you are stressed, you impede your ability to manage your stress.
Manage what you can; release what you cannot.
When waves of coronavirus anxiety show up, notice and describe the experience to yourself or others without judgment. Resist the urge to escape or calm your fears by obsessively reading virus updates. Paradoxically, facing anxiety in the moment will lead to less anxiety over time.
Practice self-care
Self-care is the active process of acknowledging and tending to your needs. Self-care includes practices that invest in your general wellness. This can include preventative measures such as eating nutritious foods, staying active, and getting adequate rest.
Craft
Meditate
Clean
Play with a pet
Read a book
Call a loved one
Watch your favorite movie
Practice gratitude
Take an online class
Host a virtual gathering
Self-care also includes taking care of your body during this time.
· Take care of your body. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs
Don’t underestimate human resiliency
Many people fear how they will manage if the virus shows up in town, at work or at school. They worry how they would cope with a quarantine, a daycare closure or a lost paycheck. Human minds are good at predicting the worst.
But research shows that people tend to overestimate how badly they’ll be affected by negative events and underestimate how well they’ll cope with and adjust to difficult situations.
Don’t get sucked into overestimating the threat
Coronavirus can be dangerous, with an estimated 1.4% to 2.3% death rate. So, everyone should be serious about taking all the reasonable precautions against infection.
But people also should realize that humans tend to exaggerate the danger of unfamiliar threats compared to ones they already know, like seasonal flu or car accidents. Constant incendiary media coverage contributes to the sense of danger, which leads to heightened fear and further escalation of perceived danger.
Get professional help when you need it
Remember there are bound to be times when you may feel like you need to talk to a professional to determine if any anxiety, depression, or fears have become out of control. If you are wondering you may want to request a consultation with a health care professional such as a physician, psychiatrist, counselor, or social worker in order to decide what to do next. Sometimes we think about worst case scenarios when we are alone but after speaking about the problem with a professional we can sort, prioritize, and decide what the next steps are to make things better.