It puts us in a fight or flight state that can make it difficult to function.
We can be either running on adrenaline, fired up and irritable or avoiding, hiding, in denial.
Neither is right nor wrong, it’s just basic human nature.
Here are a few tips to help cope in healthy ways:
- Eat healthy with as many fruits and vegetables 🌶 this keeps your body and brain functioning better
- Get 20 minutes of moving your body every day: push ups, jumping jacks, running, dancing. This produces endorphins to help fight depression
- Read inspirational books or look up videos on youtube. Feeding our minds with positive thoughts is so important right now
- Keep some routine to your day right now, have a schedule. Being displaced from a job, social distancing really throws our regular routines out the window! Plan your day so there is some structure. This will help you stay motivated and less powerless.
- Serving others in small ways helps us feel better. It’s been shown that acts of kindness not only help those receiving but those doing the giving. Find small ways to help others right now.
- Create a list of 5-10 things you are grateful for. Focusing on what is going right for you helps decrease fear.
- Ask yourself, in the bigger picture, how significant is this, really? Sometimes we make a bigger deal than something needs to be. Put things into perspective
- Ask yourself, have I been through something like this before and how did it get resolved? Changes are we have had similar feelings, worries, and emotions in other circumstances and have gotten through it in the end.
- Ask yourself, is there a lesson in this for me to learn. Fear is a great way to avoid truly dealing with an issue. Behind the fear, is there a lesson or opportunity for personal growth here?
Fear can be so a paralyzing and it can feel like we are stuck there with no way out! I encourage you to try these techniques and practices above to help you decrease the grip your fears have on you. Be compassionate with yourself and acknowledge a bad day, a rough hour, but work through it and press forward. Finally, ask for help if you just can’t shake it. We have always been better together!