Let Go of Anxiety With These Self-Care Strategies
How do you let go of anxiety and fear when a life-threatening virus is attacking the world, and life, as you know it, has been turned upside down?
You are wondering when Coronavirus isolation is going to end, and if normal as you knew it, will ever return.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that outbreaks can trigger overwhelming stress, fear, and anxiety. They encourage people to care for their mental health.
This article will give you a few healthy and holistic strategies you can use to remove anxiety and dissipate fear during Coronavirus isolation.
They include:
- meditation;
- education; and
- laughter.
Before we dive in, here are a few words of encouragement.
Be Gentle on Yourself
Before you move to relieve yourself of anxiety, know that anxiety and fear are normal reactions to stressful and dangerous situations.
When the entire world feels fearful, it can intensify your stress. You may feel trapped in anxiety and fear with no escape.
So, be gentle with yourself. Even the most grounded person may oscillate in-and-out of fear during this time of COVID-19.
However, the body can’t sustain prolonged periods of anxiety and fear, so you do want to dissipate and reduce it for your overall well-being.
Unchecked anxiety can put unnecessary stress on the mind and your immune system, which you want to work in full capacity during this time.
Let’s look at how to dissipate these feelings.
How to Let Go of Fear and Worry
1. Educate for Protection
You can immediately minimize anxiety when you are educated about the facts and know-how to protect yourself against COVID-19.
The CDC suggests that knowing the facts helps reduce stress. Many ideas are floating around about how to care for yourself and your family during this outbreak.
Even if your information comes from reputable sources, take an extra step, and cross-reference all the information you receive.
This extra piece of due diligence can ease the mind.
By knowing the facts, you are in the position to make empowered choices for yourself and those you love. Ungrounded fears, which is the source of most anxiety, will be removed and replaced with empowerment.
2. Ride on the Coattail of an Optimist
Everybody reacts differently to stressful situations.
While a large percentage of the population feels anxious, some people are handling this world event with ease and flow.
Let their calm demean our inspire you. Model their behaviour while still remaining authentic to your feelings.
Become curious about how they are managing to maintain their cool. Learn from them.
This method works well when you are just dealing with anxious thoughts. But what do you do when anxiety feels like it is imprinted in your body?
How to Remove Fear from the Mind and Heart
Sometimes it seems easier to deal with anxious thoughts because they can be deconstructed, rationalized, and removed by reason.
But addressing the question, “How to Remove Fear from the Mind and the Heart?” is slightly more complicated. Fear can creep in your mind and heart and silently harbour there without you knowing.
However, uncontrolled anxious thoughts and random feelings of fear give you a clue that you are carrying fear in your heart and mind.
Self-care techniques work well to help you get over your fear and anxiety.
Let’s look at a few that are excellent at letting go of worry with mindfulness.
3. Meditate and Breathe
You may be skeptical of the idea of breathing to reduce anxiety. However, in a medically reviewed Healthline article, “Breathing Exercises to Try When You Feel Anxious”, it provides a list of eight different breathing exercises that reduce anxiety.
Per the report, a simple long exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous systems, which helps your body relax and release anxiety.
If you want to take breathing to the next level, you can use a meditation aimed explicitly at letting go of fear and anxiety.
In an article by Harvard Professor turned Spiritual Guru, Ram Dass, presents “17 Ways to Use Meditation for Anxiety Relief Right Now.” He says,
However, if mediation is not your thing, try our next anxiety-busting strategy.
4. Give Service
People feel good when they give back.
Jason Marsh, Editor-in-Chief of Great Good, and Jill Suttie, Psy. D says giving is good for you.
It is a great way to occupy your thoughts and quiet the monkey mind that is the source of most anxiety.
Giving service also opens up your heart, allowing a path for stagnant fears and anxieties to dissolve.
Of course, during this time of COVID-19, your charitable service shouldn’t put you in harm’s way. Be creative. Be inspired by the creative ways people are serving others. Here is an example:
5. Share some laughter or learn new things
Many actors, entertainers and performers are sharing the love and laughter by performing concerts via teleconferencing, or on Tik Tok or Youtube.
Trawl through these and find some favourites. See below.
Others, such as business owners, coaches and trainers are offering free trainings. Learn something new. Or brush up on old skills.
6. Social Distancing Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Socialize
Just because social distancing is in effect, it doesn’t mean you can’t socialize.
Humans are communal creatures. Isolation can spark loneliness, which can stimulate anxiety.
Don’t let isolation get in the way of communicating with the people you love. During times like these, this communication is even more crucial.
Technology like Skype and Zoom makes it possible, and easy, to reach out to people in your circle.
What is the Worst Thing That Can Happen? Let Go of Everything You Fear to Lose
Imagine you lost everything, and the world never returned to normal?
Frightening thought.
It’s counter intuitive but, if you can find a way to make peace with the worst-case scenario and let go of everything you fear to lose, this exercise can free you from looping thoughts of catastrophe. Once you deal with the worst-case scenario, you can handle anything.
You’ve Got This
COVID-19 has changed things as you know it; however, it is empowering to know that you haven’t lost total control.
You may not be able to control what happens in the world, but you always have the power to adjust what is happening in your mind.
It is natural to feel anxiety and fear during times of uncertainty. However, as we examined, anxiety doesn’t have to rule your life.
Use the strategies above to let go of any anxiety, fear, and stress using self-care techniques.
There’s a bonus – you can use these tips to reduce any stressful situation, not only COVID-19 related stressors.
Which tip are you going to try first?
Let me know. Leave a comment below.
Blessings.
