Covid19 has affected so many lives around us. If you already struggle with anxiety, it can be a lot trickier to navigate. I have had moments of anxiety in the past and I still struggle at times today but I feel a lot more people out there suffer from this more than me. I want this post to encourage you and to remind you that you are in control of your thoughts and that it is possible to take back your power and realign your thought process so that you can believe the truth about yourself, instead of the lies that anxiety forces you to believe. So may you feel empowered to take this on with strength and to try different things to calm your anxiety and to learn how you can work through your anxiety in all different circumstances!
During this time of lockdown, I have really felt a mixed amount of feelings and I believe that this is true for other people too. One minute you feel like you are teetering on the edge of panic and the next moment you are enjoying the moments of calmness and extra time with your loved ones. One day the break in routine and lack of motivation has you feeling very unsettled and the next moment you have gone hours forgetting that you are even in lockdown. It is confusing and exhausting at the same time.
Over the period of this lockdown, I have been listening to many podcasts that have really encouraged me and helped me to navigate the lies in my thought patterns. I am going to share a few strategies that have really helped me in moments of absolute anxiety and fear in the hope that this will help you too!
1. Invite It In
This has helped me a lot when dealing with moments of anxiety. Our instinct is to try and avoid anxiety rather than facing it head on. This is because anxiety is a very unpleasant feeling and why would we want to experience unpleasant feelings right? Experience also tells us to fight our anxiety. I am not sure about you but for me that has only fueled my anxiety overtime. Do not let it become a taboo thing. Invite your anxiety in, welcome it. When we do this, our fear begins to slowly dissolve. This really requires practice as well as patience because it goes against our natural instincts.
2. Fact vs Fear
This is a really great strategy when trying to face specific concerns and fears. Get a piece of paper and create two columns. Write down your ‘irrational’ or exaggerated fears and then in the column next to it, write down your rational thought and fact. After a while, we can begin to train our brains to believe our rational column and this will provide us with a new perspective and a sense of peace. Writing it down and seeing it on paper makes it a lot more real for us and we can begin to see the lies in our negative thought patterns.
3. Mindfulness
Learning to live in the present moment and embracing the now is so helpful when it comes to anxiety. Anxiety more often than not focuses on what could potentially happen in the future. If we can reduce the amount of time that we spend fearing our future, the less anxious we will feel. This has helped me a lot and has provided me with some relief when panic has set in. It is actually something I still reach for in times of fear and worry.
There are some amazing mindfulness and meditation apps that are there to calm you and to realign your thought process:
Calm: https://www.calm.com/
Breathe: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/breathe-1-minute-meditation/id1008766169
Breethe: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Meditation.app&hl=en_ZA
Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app
Oak: https://www.oakmeditation.com/
Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/
4. Podcasts
There are some incredible people out there who have podcasts on conquering anxiety and fear as well as mental health. Going for a walk (obviously within our lockdown exercise bracket), putting earphones in your ears and listening to a podcast for half an hour or so really starts your day off on such a good note! I recently woke up with no motivation at all to go for a walk and I decided to just push that lack of motivation aside, get dressed and go for it and I listened to a really great podcast that spoke about self-sabotage and feelings of anxiety and it started off my day on such a great note! I felt re-energized and ready to conquer the day.
These are the podcasts and authors that have done some really great research on anxiety and I love listening to them:
Mel Robbins:
Instagram: @melrobbins
Jordan Lee Dooley:
https://jordanleedooley.com/shepodcast
Instagram: @shepodcast
Dr Joe Dispenza:
Instagram: @drjoedispenza
Dr Judy Ho:
Instagram: drjudyho
A hazardous part of isolation is that it can lead to a lot of overthinking. There is an endless amount of time to over analyse, question and to indulge. Even after listening to the podcasts and reading the articles on anxiety, I can still feel trapped by it at times…but that is okay. I like to think of it as stubbing your toe. It can happen, it will happen multiple times in your life and no amount of preparation or awareness can prevent it and there is absolutely no shame in that. We are powerful enough to redirect our thoughts and to take back our power. Recognize your thought patterns and figure out what it is that is triggering those thoughts. Do not be hard on yourself and do not think that if you experience anxiety after trying and trying again, that you are failing. It is not true. I have learnt that everything in life is a process. It takes time to change your thoughts and to change the way that you think.
These are the next few steps that I try and do when I am feeling a little anxious during the day! It helps me a lot and maybe it could help you too!
- MOVE – If you are on the couch or in the bed, get up and move. You can also run your hands under cold water for about 30 seconds. The brain prioritizes one activity at a time, so any sudden movements can push those thoughts off track. Star jumps are a great way to get the body moving as well!
- DISTRACT – Distraction could be anything that you like.. and I mean a healthy distraction. I love listening to music, for me it would be worship that calms my thoughts down a lot and I also like to sit in the sun for a bit to recollect my thoughts. Think about what brings you the most joy and then go and do it!
- WRITE – I mentioned this earlier but this helps a lot! Write your thoughts down. Write anything that connects to how you are feeling in that moment. Do not think, just write. Things are a lot easier to rationalize on paper! It is a really great way to process your feelings and emotions.
I pray that these steps would help navigate your way through anxiety and that you would find the strength that you need to take back your power!
We are all going through something and we are all facing different challenges each day. Do not be hard on yourself. You are strong enough to get through this. May you feel comforted in knowing that you are not alone.
xx