How does anxiety effect you?
Physiologically, anxiety increases your heart rate and usually causes quick breaths to speed through your body. You may feel your body shaking and not be able to control or stop it. Sweaty palms, obsessive worry and chronic fatigue are also the effects of feeling anxious.
Mentally, anxiety distorts your perception of a situation so that you believe there is more danger than what is truly present. And that often results in avoiding places and people, even to the extent of disrupting work, school, and relationships.
I cannot believe that anyone consciously chooses to live a life with anxiety. And yet, anxiety disorders are all too common.
What causes anxiety?
Though we do not know exactly what causes anxiety, we can classify possible causes as medical (drug abuse or withdrawal, heart disease, chronic pain, just to name a few), trauma (war veterans, victims of abuse), excessive stress, and other mental health disorders.
Sometimes, anxiety builds up as the result of a problem that seems out of control or uncertainty of the future which causes a sense of fear. And if you already suffer from periodic anxiety attacks, these are the kinds of things that trigger the onset of another battle.
The Coronavirus fits this last category: fear of the unknown. Though medical professionals are learning more and more about COVID-19 every day, there are still many unanswered questions. And because of all these unknowns, compounded by the lack of testing currently available, we don’t know if we, or someone we are close to, could be a carrier. Such fear is then exasperated by all the talk and news about it.
How to manage fears and concerns about Coronavirus
At Lotus Wellness Center, we promote a calm approach to living, and that is put to the test at a time like this when society is nearing a hysterical state of stress. Therefore, we want to offer practical tips and strategies to help you keep anxiety levels low at this challenging time.
| Behaviors | Add a calming tone |
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Sanitize |
With mindfulness:
Don’t just frantically run around and wipe down everything you see; instead, know with confidence that your sanitizing efforts are killing bacteria. |
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Practice social distancing |
With a sense of humor:
The media is promoting elbow taps as an alternative to handshaking or high 5s when we greet each other. Take that a step further and be silly with it. Create a greeting dance you can do, or make a joke about social distancing. |
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Stay home |
With a plan:
Do you have craft projects you’ve been putting off until you have more time? How about any books you’ve been wanting to read? Do you want to learn something new? (YouTube is a great source of tutorials and Udemy.com is a continuing education site where you can learn anything you can imagine.) |
Our recommended Resources
Guided Meditations and Breath Practice from Lotus
How do you keep calm in light of Coronavirus?
Please share with us your own tips for adding a calming tone to your response to COVID-19. Leave a comment below so that together, we can all stay healthy in mind and spirit as well as in body.