Minimising anxiety even during a pandemic

A little over a month ago, we were all going about our daily lives as usual. Going to work, sports, shopping centres, cinemas, and cafes. I was able to visit my mum in her residential aged care environment.

As of today, we’re well over half a million confirmed cases of Coronavirus (that we know about) globally and we’re heading towards one million way too fast. Lockdowns are in place globally, businesses aren’t surviving, job losses are mounting, and our daily routines have changed overnight.

Uncertainty prevails. And with uncertainty, for many people, comes anxiety through a sense of powerlessness. It’s more than understandable.

It’s possible though to minimise anxiety. To not let it envelop you to the point of paralysis. To take back some power and feel more in control.

Here is an evidence-based principle that we teach in The Thrive Programme that enables you to minimise your anxiety even in the face of challenges. Even in the face of challenges that tilt our livelihood on a severe axis.

Control the controllables

With every experience we have in life, there are pieces we can control and others we can’t.

Your job

If you are employed by an organisation, your job security is largely in their hands. You can’t control whether your role will exist tomorrow, next week, or next year.

What can you control? While you have a job, you can control how you perform in the role, the networks you create, the relationships you nurture, and the extra mile you go.

If your job is reduced or lost, you can control how quickly you start your job search, what network conversations you have, your spending reductions, contacting banks to negotiate repayments, getting your resume up-to-date, and more.

Staying physically healthy

We can’t control that some of our favourite sporting activities are no longer available such as gyms, park runs, swimming pools, and group cycling.

However, we can still control whether or not we move our bodies. Free 30-minute indoor workout Apps are available that require nothing more than you and your attitude.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a garden, there’s nothing more satisfying than a weed-free garden and the muscle fatigue that comes with the lifting, pulling and pushing of getting amongst the green stuff.

A run/walk outside (with correct social distancing), even if it is for essential services only, can ensure you get some of the endorphins that result from getting a bit sweaty.

Healthy eating

Restaurants and cafes have closed except for takeaway. Can’t control that.

However, you can control what you eat and making the decision to make it healthy. And even though mince, chicken, pasta and pasta sauce have appeared to make the top ten charts on shopping lists; fresh fruit and vegetables are plentiful so here’s a great opportunity to learn some new healthy recipes.

Media consumption

You can’t control the catastrophic nature of media with words such as pandemic, crisis, outbreaks, and deaths soaring. Coronavirus news is 24/7. You don’t have to be latched on to them 24/7.

Choose your news. Choose to listen in occasionally. Make sure it’s factual and trustworthy. Choose to reduce your social media consumption where news can be untrustworthy and only fuel unhelpful thinking.

Social connecting

You can’t control that self-isolation may be forced upon us physically. Or that we need to be responsible within our communities and stay at home as much as possible. Even working remotely for some is difficult when we experience a lot of pleasure from seeing our team mates in person.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t use technology to connect with friends, family and colleagues. This is within our control. Maintaining contact is within our control and it’s important for our mental health.

Our thinking

Maintaining perspective with coronavirus will minimise anxiety. The ability to maintain perspective is intimately linked to our thinking. If you often find yourself thinking in a catastrophic way, then you’re going to be thinking about this virus as being a lot more frightening than it is. While we do need to take the advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Australian Government seriously, we don’t need to blow it out of proportion. Catastrophising blows it out of proportion.

You can control your thinking. You can notice when you’re thinking in a way that’s catastrophic. When you do, stand back, and get perspective.

Now is not the time to panic and create anxiety. Now is the time to focus on what’s within our control that will make us feel stronger, more powerful, and more connected.