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Of course, given the situation, some anxiety is okay and even helpful.
Getty / Nora Carol Photography / Natalya Danko / EyeEm; Designed by Morgan Johnson
At a manageable level, coronavirus anxiety reminds us to stay vigilant and stick to best infection-prevention practices.
Plus, its completely human.
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, youre not alone.
To help, I talked to a few experts on how to cope.
Frankly, though, its still going to be a challenge.
The situation with the new coronavirus is complicated and unprecedented in many ways.
Some of these tips might feel contradictory, but thats unavoidable.
With that in mind, heres some advice that might help right now.
Dont take a stab at figure out the difference between reasonable anxiety and too much anxiety.
In fact, it might just make you more anxious.
Are you too anxious to go to work or school?
Are you skipping out on social situations?
Are you avoiding things you normally love?
Its a complicated, uncertain situation on multiple levels.
Its hard to separate that out at this point because coronavirus is real.
Its happening,Jenny Yip, Psy.D., clinical psychologist who specializes in OCD and anxiety, tells SELF.
Its not an irrational fear with no basis in reality.
If you have a hard time doing that, prioritize asking for help (more on that later).
Limit where you get updates about the new coronavirus.
This is the big one, yall.
And thats not great.
Garfin herself researches health psychology and how community disasters impact mental health.
So what do you do instead?
Control how you get updates.
Make use ofTwitter Listsin a way that works for you.
Also, I wont judge you if you just mute coronavirus and related words altogether.
Whats actually realistic and helpful for you will vary, but you get the idea.
Focus on what else you might control.
Anxiety thrives on doubt and uncertainty, says Yip.
Garfin also recommends keeping your preparation in perspective.
Were just paying more attention to it right now.
So making the jump to our anxieties feeling justified and rational for once might cause some understandable whiplash.
Again, the answer is perspective and being kind to yourself.
Remember you dont always have to act on your anxieties.
Preparation is good, but so is mindfulness.
Thats when you have to challenge your fear with rational thought, she says.
Are there cases of coronavirus in your area?
Has your local health department made it clear you dont have to stay inside?
The reason this is importantespecially where leaving your house is concernedis because anxiety feeds on isolation and inactivity.
Write down all your worries for 15 minutes.
For people feeling stuck in their new coronavirus anxieties, she suggests what she calls 15-Minute Worry Time.
Its what it sounds like: Take 15 minutes to write down all of your new coronavirus worries.
There are two rules, though.
The first is that you have to write worry statements, not ruminations.
You want to focus on outcomes instead of feelings.
A worry statement is, Im worried that I will contract coronavirus.
Im worried that if I contract it, then I might die.
I worry that if I die, my family will miss me, says Yip.
With worry statements, there is a beginning and end.
Rumination just keeps spiraling.
The second rule is that you have to write for the full 15 minutes.
According to Yip, you could do this multiple times a day as needed.
Essentially, youre replaying the same thing until you get bored, she says.
Do a guided meditation.
I have never been ameditationperson.
And its been helping.
If youre also struggling to shut off a nonstop stream of anxious mental chatter, I recommend it.
My go-to recommendation isHeadspacebecause of how beginner-friendly it is.
That said, there are also guided meditations all over the internet.
Stay connected to other people.
Since anxiety breeds in isolation, its important to do what we can to stay socially connected.
You might have to get creative about how you do this.
Staying connected might look different for you.
Maybe you and your friends can start cooking together instead of going out.
Remind yourself that youre doing the best you’ve got the option to with the available information.
Like we mentioned earlier, anxiety feeds on uncertainty, which theres certainly a lot of right now.
Should you cancel your trip?
Should you avoid the subway?
But I dont have best judgment, I have anxiety!!!
Theyre thoughtful, theyre prudent, theyre trying to do the right thing.
But there are two biases we should remember that were susceptible to.
But the truth is, we probably cant.
Tap into some professional help.
Of course, finding a new mental health practitioner can be difficult on a good day.
You have other options, though.
Places likeBetterHelpandTalkspacematch you with online or mobile therapists.
If you need someone to talk to immediately before you find a therapist, theyre there for you.
Beyond that, be kind to yourself.
Managing anxiety at a time like this is going to be a challenge.
Well have good days and bad days, and the coping skill that works today might not work tomorrow.
And right now, that has to be good enough for me.
The situation with coronavirus is evolving rapidly.
