I think for many of us, this is an incredibly anxiety-inducing time. I have moments where I’m totally fine, and things seem normal, and then moments where it all seems like SO much – fear of getting coronavirus, fear of it spreading, and just the uncertainty about everything surrounding this situation.
During my first week of self-quarantine, I got anxious a lot. But it has slowly, little by little, gotten better since then. I wanted to share what I’ve done since then to keep anxiety at bay, and to make the current situation seem a little bit more palatable.
ONE – Limiting the news
The first week that I was home, and even before that, I was reading the news all day long. I was reading Facebook posts about coronavirus, scrolling through Twitter constantly, and texting with my friends about it the whole day. But reading all of that was incredibly overwhelming. It was information overload. So I’ve started limiting the number of times I check coronavirus-related news. I’ll look through Twitter a few times, but not all day. I won’t read every article that I come across. And it’s helped, a lot. It feels so much more manageable when I’m not inundated.
TWO – Headspace Sleep
I recently discovered that Headspace has an entire section devoted to sleep. There are options for drifting off, for winding down at the end of the day, for waking up in the the middle of the night – there’s something for everyone. Each night, I’ve been putting one of the drifting off meditations, and I’ve actually been falling asleep before it even ends. It’s such a calm, peaceful way to fall asleep.
Headspace actually has a whole section of meditations available for free to help people deal with increased anxiety right now. If you haven’t tried it yet but have been interested, now’s the time.
THREE – Getting fresh air
I have been trying to get outside every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Even though I can already tell that my allergies are going to be bad, taking a few breaths of fresh, crisp air is just so calming! When it’s been nice enough, I’ve even been taking my laptop outside onto the porch or deck (depending on which one gets the most sun!) to work for a bit. It’s made a huge difference in helping me feel like I’m not too cooped up.
Four – Talking with Friends
While I’m lucky enough to be quarantined with my family (mom, dad, and sister), I’ve missed seeing my friends! We’ve been making an effort to stay more connected virtually since we can’t physically see each other – Zoom happy hours and lunch dates, and more daily group texts going on. One of my friends has a son who is a little over a year old, and he now recognizes my face on the screen when I FaceTime her! I’ll take it.
