With COVID-19 numbers on the rise and holidays in full swing, you may be experiencing increased feelings of anxiety. Paired with ten months of working from home and at-home learning, your anxiety can feel impossible to manage.
This article will explore some strategies for coping with your anxiety. While no coping mechanism will cure anxiety, these are designed to help make any negative emotions more manageable. Always talk to a doctor if your feelings are unmanageable and begin impacting your daily life.
Get up and move.
When you were at work, you likely took breaks for lunch, chatted with your coworkers, or walked to different meeting rooms. If you’re sitting still all day long, you might begin to feel restless and more anxious.
You’d be surprised by how easy it is to sneak activity into your day when you try. Even just going for a short walk around the kitchen every half hour can keep your restlessness at bay.
Incorporate mindfulness into your day.
Mindfulness is a tool for regulating your emotions. By thinking through how you’re feeling and what caused you to feel that way, you can better understand your feelings and begin to control them. Consider starting each morning with mindfulness to center yourself for the day ahead.
Mindfulness can be an effective way to navigate your increased feelings of anxiety and control them.
Practice gratitude.
It can be easy to get swept up in all the negatives going on in the world right now: a global pandemic, economic and financial instability, the stress of holidays. Just like how watching the news all day can put you in a bad mood, thinking about all the bad stuff going on will make you upset.
Instead, try to focus on the positives in your life that you’re thankful for. Instead of working from home keeping you from the office, it’s allowing you time to spend with your significant other and children. Instead of quarantine separating you from your family and friends, it’s encouraging you to connect in new ways.
Implement a gratitude practice in your daily routine by thinking through or writing down all the things you’re grateful for. It’s a great way to appreciate the positives and keep them top-of-mind.
Journal about your emotions.
Sometimes it’s hard to think logically about your own emotions. Journaling can help you work through complex thoughts and feelings.
Consider leaving a journal on your nightstand and writing down a few sentences about how you felt each day before you go to bed.
Treat yourself.
Make yourself your favorite food or hot drink as a reward, or treat yourself to some extra “me” time. If you’re spending more time at home with family, you’re probably being pulled in many directions, from working to cooking to cleaning and caring for everyone.
It’s essential to take some time for yourself occasionally, even if it’s just sitting down with a cup of coffee.
Call a friend or loved one.
It’s so easy to feel isolated or trapped right now, whether you’re living alone or not. While it may not be safe to see your loved ones in person, you can reach out over the phone or through video chat to catch up.
You don’t have to talk about your feelings of anxiety if you don’t want to. Sometimes, just catching up with someone you care about can help.
Take care of yourself.
No matter what, it’s important to continue taking care of yourself. During a global pandemic, it’s important to care for your body and your mind. We’re constantly rolling out additional tutorials, helpful tips, and other resources to help you stay healthy both mentally and physically. Please subscribe to our newsletter to get our most recent articles delivered straight to your inbox. As a bonus, subscribers will receive exclusive offers and inside information about upcoming products.