Last night, my husband and I went to a grocery store and were shocked by rows and rows of empty shelves.
I was simply stunned by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and national emergency declaration and the community’s response.
All I could think was “Oh. My. God……” and felt helpless and hopeless.
Then I woke up this morning and was thinking I may not be the only one who is worried and concerned about the virus, but more importantly, the fear of uncertainty.
When we are faced with anything unknown, a natural reaction includes feeling anxious.
I see patients for concussion but deal with a lot of anxiety (the patients and parents).
When I work with them, I share 2 tips that helps reduce anxiety, so I thought I share them with you all.
Super simple. All you need are (1) your cell phone and (2) paper and pen/pencil.
1. Download The Breathing App:
a. It’s a free app on iPhone and google play and doesn’t have annoying ads. It’s called a pacer which is like a metronome for your breathing. The instruction is super-duper simple.
b. Set to breathe in for 4 seconds and breathe out for 6 seconds. That’s right, slow breathing.
c. And focus on belly breathing. That way, your autonomic nervous system is balanced and you feel relaxed and calm.
d. Breathe for 2 minutes.
2. Journaling or I would call Brain Dump:
a. For those who journal, you may know this already. When we are faced with stress, a lot of thoughts and feelings pile up in our brain and we get overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed a lot too.
b. Set a timer for 2 minutes and jot down what’s in my brain on a piece of paper. It can be words, phrases, pictures, in random orders.
c. At the end of the 2 minutes, look at what you wrote and choose 1 thing that you can tackle now.
d. If your worries are out of your control, such as the future of COVID-19, then choose 1 thing (safe & healthy thing) that makes you feel better.
We may need a lot to defeat COVID-19, but we can certainly beat our inner anxiety today:)
Until next time...be well.
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