Coping with The Current Virus Chaos – Anxiety
How To Manage Uncertainty in Uncertain Times
Things have changed incredibly for us all with this current pandemic. All the uncertainty can be difficult to cope with.
You may feel anxious or stressed right now and therefore you may be finding it difficult to rein in worrying thoughts and you may feel insecure about your future.
But help is at hand – you CAN discover how to cope with uncertainty.
Facing Uncertainty is Scarier than Facing Unavoidable Physical Pain
A recent study shows that the uncertainty of something bad happening can be more stressful than the knowledge of something bad happening.
Uncertainty Stirs Up Our Basic Survival Impulse
If we can’t defuse a perceived threat, we become occupied with the unhelpful activity of worrying.
We wrestle with the particular issue to find solutions to the threat, but there aren’t any.
Instead of making us feel better – it makes us feel worse!
We are naturally wired to ‘catastrophise’ i.e. we think about a circumstance as being worse than it actually is. This leads to worry, which ends in anxiety.
Our modern brains struggle to differentiate between real threat and supposed threat. This leads to our primitive brains taking over and triggering our primitive, fight or flight, survival instinct.
It asks questions:
What’s going to happen?
Is my business going to collapse?
Supposing I lose my job?
Could I fall ill from the virus?
How can I cope?
A lack of answers can lead to all sorts of emotions such as:
– Anger
– Resentment
– Frustration
– Depression
What Can we do to Allay Uncertainty?
There are a number of things we can do to reduce the effects of uncertainty:
Awareness is your secret weapon:
- Be more consciously aware of your feelings and emotions
- Notice the “worry narrative” you are telling yourself – try to distance yourself from it
- Focus on breathing – take long slow breaths – breathe out for longer than you breathe in
- Recognise the need to conquer your basic instinct for fight-or-flight
- Accept uncertainty rather than trying to battle against it
Stand up to Anxiety with Some Mood-Boosters
- Get some exercise or movement
- Do some meditating, self-hypnosis
- Find a purpose – volunteer or doing something for someone, achieve something
- Find something pleasant or fun to do
Just 15 minutes a day, focusing on yourself, will help you regain a sense of balance.
The more you practice all these strategies, the better you will become!
For further information and details of how to download my FREE Anxiety Release recording click here Anxiety Release
Sticking to your new year resolutions?
Well it’s just over a week into the New Year and those of you who have made resolutions may already be facing challenges.
It’s said that the New Year, although traditionally a time for ringing in the new, may not be the best time to make changes because of the various pressures on us at this time of the year. Are you finding that new work targets and deadlines, all those goodies left over from Christmas, the added pressures on our finances, the weather etc, are conspiring to make it that bit more difficult to stick to plans. Relying on willpower alone seldom works.
If, however, you have resolved to change something in your life, don’t be despondent. Good on you for being prepared to change something that will be of benefit to you in the long term.
How to achieve those changes
Sure, you may slip up or feel like giving up but take it in your stride. Do it in little stages and focus on the steps you’re taking towards that end goal. Make sure each step is realistic and achievable and keep moving towards your goal instead of giving up when you encounter a setback.
Accept that you will have some hiccups rather than focusing on what might go wrong. There will always be external factors that can have an influence over your best intentions. Be prepared for them and deal with them rather than either dwelling on them or ignoring them. Avoiding them will only make them seem worse. If you’re prepared you’ll be more able to cope with anything that does go wrong.
Also, accept that you’re human and do sometimes make mistakes. Learn from any mistakes, don’t dwell on them.
Acknowledge any fears you may have by writing them down. Then write down the benefits of facing those fears and achieving your goals. This will help you face them and keep you motivated. Believe in yourself even if you feel afraid.
Share your goals with your friends and seek their support.
Remember to reward yourself for each small step along the way (a nice long soak in a bath, a refreshing walk, a good book, time out to listen to your favourite music or something equally enjoyable and relaxing).
Getting started is often the hardest part and you’ve already done that so go for it!
