Corona Anxiety and Coping!

When we are hit by a calamity, we tend to focus on the distress it brings more than the blessings we already have or can have- although it is during this time that we must count our blessings! Where the reality of Coronavirus is looming with all its symptoms and spread, the impact this whole situation is having on our psychology has its own implications. Luckily, we have people in our circles and communities who can always steer us towards positivity, show us glimmer of hope and make best of our situation. One such gem in our local Dallas Metroplex is a great friend, Nida Jawed.

Nida is a certified Life Coach and founder of Nida Jawed Life Coaching, LLC. She brings an optimistic approach and believes in her client’s ability to master the art of positive mindset. She provides online private life coaching sessions and in-person group coaching sessions in areas of life, relationships, and parenting. A renowned motivational speaker, she also hosts a talk show called, “Pondering Thoughts with Nida Jawed”.

I am so happy that she did a guest post on the subject for my blog! Read on for great tips on how to get through this epidemic with positive vibes…

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COVID-19 has come as a huge global scare, a pandemic impacting almost everyone on the face of the earth. It has left many of us vulnerable, fearful and with a feeling of helplessness about current times and the future. We are worried about finances, food, shelter, and all other necessities, thus allowing fear and anxiety to hurt us before coronavirus ever might. Of course, we are experiencing a chaos many of us never imagined encountering in our lifetime, but here we are!! And now that we are here, how can we cope with this anxiety and remain positive in this negative situation? How can we not cross the line from being safe to paranoid?

Other than making sure we are taking precautions – staying home, practicing social distancing and washing our hands to keep our bodies healthy, there are few other things we must do to tackle this sticky situation that is causing us so much mental distress. Following are few steps that we can follow to help relieve some of the tension this pandemic is causing and bring hope and joy in our lives:

Limit our access to information:

For the past few weeks, if not more, we have been overwhelmed by the constant information about coronavirus. It is, without a doubt, most (in)famous topic of the discussion on social media, news channels, and in our communication with friends and relatives – local and overseas. The access to this information is clearly not having a good impact on our well being – even when we want to take a break, we get the stats, updates one way or other! It is hard to stay ignorant amidst all this. This in turn is adding to the already built anxiety in our systems. We need to limit, if not shut off our interaction with this information, take forced periodic breaks from social media, replace news with shows we enjoy, and listen to calming music instead of pandemic documentaries. Anxiety has a tendency to weaken our body, in addition to our mind, and it is very important to keep both intact especially during these difficult times. It makes us incapable of making logical decisions; we often find ourselves clumsier or making irrational demands. Body aches, heavy chest, and headaches are often result of having anxiety.

Calm ourselves down during the break:

Now that we have taken a break from scary news, it is important to use that time effectively to counter our anxious state. We can do many things that can help us relieve the stress at the individual as well as family and community level.

We can try new dishes, enjoy well-balanced meals, involve family in the planning of menu, teach kids baking. We can start an exercise regimen. Amazon prime has amazing yoga and other exercise videos that we can stream. We can go for long walks while taking precautions and mandated guidelines. Having a relaxed sleep schedule is a blessing at this time for many of us. Reading literature that can relax you or make you happy is also a way to engage ourselves in something positive.

Likewise, spending more time with family and really get to know each other’s lives in a less rushed manner is also something we can enjoy. Looking at old pictures, and revisiting the best memories gives us the motivation to plan for new memories as well. Consider this also a good time to connect with your hobbies that you used to enjoy and gave up along the way because life happened!! Activities that take our mind off worries and demand our full attention are the best at this time.

Blessing of Social Media:

While on one hand social media can put us through an unnerving state, the same platform also serves as a saving grace! We can contact any of our relatives and friends around the world. Through Facebook, Instagram WhatsApp, Facetime- and many other virtual ways, we have an amazing opportunity to get in touch with our loved ones and trusted individuals in our lives, both far and close, who we cannot meet in person at this time. Talking and engaging in conversations other than COVID-19 can be fulfilling. We may even shift our energies to more positive aspects and bring that positive note back to our families. Let us start an ongoing circle of joy and hope!

Donating What You Can:

There is no better feeling than being able to help. Help can be delivered in many ways – time, energy, resources, money. There are many organizations who are in need of volunteers to assist them run their donation programs at their premises like food pantries, programs run by mosques, churches etc. While minding the protective guidelines, we can always spend some time and extend our help.

Many donation centers like Salvation Army, Goodwill continue to accept donations during specific hours. Check ones near you and plan your “spring cleaning”. It’s the perfect time to donate gently used clothes, home items for families who are impacted by the virus. Many other organizations have developed plans to help those impacted by Coronavirus. Those of us blessed to have jobs at this time can always consider donating for the cause.

Best Time To Plan:

Yes, admittingly we are all in a phase of uncertainty; When will it end? What will be the lifestyle after that? How will the “business as usual” resume? We all have many questions. And the answers to these questions change constantly as the statistics are updated. But this is also a good time to put many of our aspects of lives in perspective. We can initiate an on-going, flexible plan, with some contingency in place and alter it as we go. This will definitely serve better than having no plan at all. Having some sort of strategy makes us feel more in control of the situation and we can deal with the uncertainty better equipped. Coming up with worst-case to best-case scenarios, we can create our own future and be ready for the change.

In short, COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine are part of our reality right now. The anxiety from worrying about the uncertainty is commonly being faced by most of us. Nonetheless, we are stronger than difficult times and we need to remember this. This too shall pass, most importantly what we need to remember is once it is all over, we need to come out as better people, not bitter!

Keep loving, keep living, have a nice day, and rest of your life.

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