The coronavirus has unsurprisingly made many people nervous and anxious. It’s unprecedented and nobody knows the end date.
Now that we are under lock-down, I hope you find the tips and techniques below helpful and if so, share them with friends and family.
Firstly, routines may become essential for your mood. Set yourself and undertake achievable goals that will give you a dopamine hit, perhaps ones that you have put off like fixing a door handle. Behavioural Activation, a stand-alone Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) treatment, has found that by undertaking activities people can feel a sense of achievement and pleasure which in itself can lift someone out of depression.
Secondly, try not to worry unless you can problem-solve. Should you struggle to stop worrying, establish a worry time and place, like the bathroom at say 3 pm and allow yourself 15 minutes. Get Self Help and Psychology Tools are brilliant for resources such as The Worry Tree. Although this is a prevailing and not a hypothetical situation there is nothing we can do other than follow authoritative and medical advice. Worrying is similar to rumination. Neither fixes anything, it just keeps the problem going.
Thirdly, if you are feeling anxious, then try techniques like 7-11 breathing: breathing in for 7 seconds and out for 11 seconds. Slow deep breathing has been shown to activate the vagus nerve, which can initiate the parasympathetic nervous system, relaxing you.
Fourthly, find ways to exercise at home.
Fifthly, we might all have to tighten our belts. Create a budget so you know and can plan how much money you spend and receive, and on what.
Finally, limit yourself to how much time watching, reading or listening to Coronavirus news. Obtain only essential information and from reputable sources, perhaps twice a day.
For those who were planning to seek out help – or think you now need help as a result of this pandemic – rather than postpone your decision, we can Skype and/or have telephone appointments. Don’t let COVID-19 stop you from getting the help you want.
