The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is making all of us feel stress and anxiety. These feelings can be overwhelming, but learning to navigate our emotions and cope with stress can make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger. We all react differently to stress. The impact of a crisis can vary for each of us depending on our personality traits and life experiences, social and economic circumstances, our communities, and our access to local resources. There are four areas we are affected:
- Cognitive: The way we think
- Emotional: Our instinctual reaction
- Physical: Body aches, pains, or energy
- Social: The way we interact with others
Cognitive:
- Take a moment to think about how you think or process what is going on
- If worrying is making you feel depressed, tired or agitated try and change your perspective
- Focus on some of the positive like reconnecting with yourself or family
- Focus on tasks you can accomplish
- Keep things in perspective’
Emotional:
- Take a moment to think about how you naturally react and think about situations
- Are you a worrier?
- Are you angry?
- Are you carefree?
- All qualities maybe be appropriate at certain times, however pay attention to see if any of these instincts may be inappropriate or taking over
Physical:
- Pay attention to what your body is telling you
- At times your will physical feel stress in your body before your mind processes it cognitively
- Take a moment to feel if there are any physical signs of stress
Social:
- Some people may need to take solace when they are under stress and pull away from social gathering
- Others may seek connection
- For those that require social interaction these time may be challenging
Helpful Measures
Stay Connected
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- Write letters
- Skype, Facebook, Whatsapp
- Take on a project that has been on the shelf
- Find alternative ways to be social
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Improve your sleep habits
Research shows:
- Short sleepers — those who regularly slept less than six hours a night were 4.2 times more likely to catch the cold compared with those who got more than seven hours of sleep
- The risk was even higher when a person slept less than five hours a night.
Eat a balanced diet and skip unproven supplements
- Eat healthy, balanced meals
- Drink plenty of water
- Limit alcohol
- Limit caffeine
- Check Vitamin D levels
Exercise
- Reduces stress levels
- Reduces Anxiety
- Reduces risk of depression
- Improves social well being
- Increase self-esteem
Put yourself on a Press Diet
- Stop following or interacting with anyone or any sites that agitate you
- Before reading anything decide if it is a credible sources, relevant and helpful
- Avoid going online first thing in the morning or last thing at night before bed
- Set a schedule that includes when and for how long you will be on social media or watch the news
- Change it up! Read a book and have thoughtful discussions about what you have learned
- Spend more time engaging with friends and family
- Complete that Honey-Do list!
Lower your stress
- Avoid stressful situations when possible
- Change how you react
- Change how you see the situation
- Set Priorities
- Make a plan
Visit our facebook page to view our post on resiliency tips and more. (https://www.facebook.com/the.world.cares.center/)
