We are going through unprecedented times in our lives right now and it is natural to have fears about the present and future. So what are some things you can do to help yourself deal with these feelings?
1. Accept your bodily symptoms of anxiety such as facing your symptoms; accept your body’s reaction; float with the wave of anxiety and allow time to pass. Struggling with bodily symptoms of fear will make them worse. It is better to accept your bodily symptoms is the first thing you need to do during periods of fear.
2. Stay grounded in the present moment. Get out of the “what if’s.” Abdominal breathing is an excellent way to stay grounded in your body. You can focus on your arms and legs while you breathe. The more attention you can bring down to your arms and legs, the less likely you are to be in your head and your thoughts.
3. Know that fear always passes. No state of anxiety is permanent. The adrenaline passes in 5 to 10 minutes. Sooner or later your thoughts of anxiety will pass. It is not permanent.
4. If you are anxious about something, you are already teaching your mind to fear less and can say to yourself, “This anxiety is good; it means I am already desensitizing myself to it.” You cannot desensitize yourself to anxiety without at first feeling it to some extent. The path out of anxiety starts with directly experiencing it so that facing your fears becomes easier.
5. Desensitization always works with practice. Repeated exposure to your fearful thoughts with defeat them. Anxiety is based on the future fears of frightening outcomes in the face of something that is not entirely or fully known. Once that something is entirely known, the fear will pass.
We do not yet know the extent of this virus or whether or not we have been exposed or will become victims. Our fear of the unknown may make our immune systems more prone to infection. We need to practice meditation or other calm ways of distracting ourselves from what is happening in the world. We cannot control others but we can control how we respond to what is happening around us.
I am available online through Skype or Facetime. If you think I can help, please do not hesitate to contact me through calling at 361-442-9590 or emailing me at holtadams2002@yahoo.com