Anxiety And Coronavirus: 5 Basic Tips To Feel Better
Although we may not realize it, our psychological state is always influenced by what is happening around us: emotions do not arise in a vacuum nor are they born spontaneously in us.
That is why when a radical change occurs in what surrounds us, our emotions and psychological dispositions also change, whether we want it or not. And, of course, the global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is a change that has shaken the foundations of our society. As a consequence, this virus has not only had an impact on the economy, politics and even our mobility: it has also had an impact on our minds.
In this article we will see some ideas, tips and recommendations to knowing how to deal with anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic given that this psychological state is one of the most frequent among those who see their lives limited or even compromised by the risk of COVID-19 (the coronavirus disease) and by the measures that governments are taking to stop it.
Given the situation of confinement at home that many people are going through due to the coronavirus, it is normal to feel anxiety. However, it is not an inevitable problem, because we can take control of the situation so that it does not affect us psychologically in a very negative way. Let’s see some tips about this.
You have to be very selective with information: when it comes to health issues, more than ever, quality is more important than quantity. We must control the desire to know absolutely everything about the virus so as not to enter a spiral of hypochondria that is, constant fear and suspicions of constantly seeing symptoms of the disease.
2. Sleep well and eat well
When we radically change our habits, it is easy to fall into habits that are harmful to our body, such as sleeping little and eating poorly. This It generates wear and tear on our body, which in turn predisposes us to suffer anxiety and low mood ; That is why by taking care of these aspects of daily life we ​​will be protecting ourselves against anxiety.
3. Keep your mind active
Just because we cannot move a lot to avoid the risk of contagion does not mean that our mind should also remain still. In fact, quite the opposite is true.
The reason for this is the following: whether we like it or not, Most likely, in situations where we are forced to give up many of our habits we fall into the trap of psychological rumination: focusing our attention on distressing thoughts about what is happening or what could happen, and constantly turning over those ideas, giving them more and more power.
Since whatever we do our mind is going to be very active, it is best to make sure that this is something beneficial for us, instead of becoming obsessions. Therefore, to keep anxiety at bay it is recommended immerse ourselves in tasks that absorb our attention, that we find stimulating and have the ability to interest us: read a book we have pending, draw, dance, etc.
Procrastination, or the tendency to leave everything for later, is a phenomenon to which we are more exposed when we spend a lot of time at home, and that It leads us to live in a disorganized way and exposed to anxiety-inducing situations : For example, this is what happens when we have been watching videos on the Internet for a long time and when night comes we realize that we have barely studied for an exam.
For it, It is important to structure your day-to-day life and set schedules that act as time references If necessary, we can also use alarms and reminders.
5. If necessary, online therapy
Sometimes it is necessary to have professional help. Fortunately, even in situations where you have to stay at home to avoid contagion, it is possible to attend psychology consultations through online therapy. Mental health professionals are trained to attend through video call sessions in which it is possible to obtain all the benefits of in-person psychotherapy although in this case remotely and through the Internet: the only fundamental difference is the communication channel.
Conclusion
With the spread of the coronavirus comes the need to adapt to a problem that is economic and health, but also psychological.
For this reason, there are many recommended habits that you can put into practice every day to protect yourself from anguish and thoughts that generate anxiety, and furthermore, even if they are not enough to maintain emotional harmony, you can always resort to online therapy. We cannot make the virus disappear, but we can do a lot when it comes to ensuring our psychological well-being : let’s take advantage of it.
