How the Coronavirus Fear Affects Us and Simple Tips To Cope
Our world is slowing down. There are closures everywhere. Fear and anxiety are palpable. Even if we haven't personally contracted the coronavirus, fear is rippling through the world.
As far as we know, none of us are immune to the coronavirus. Fear and stress can wreak just as much havoc on our bodies as disease, and even weaken our immune system, making us more susceptible to illness.
Physical Response to Stress
When we're under stress, we often respond in either hyper- or hypo-arousal.
Hyper-arousal: aka fight or flight response. It can show up as hypervigilance (paranoia and obsessiveness), needing to get ahead, avoidance, anxiety and/or panic, racing thoughts.
Hypo-arousal: a freeze response. It can show up as feelings of emotional numbness, emptiness, or paralysis, dissociation, and depression.
Reminder: Everyone's reaction is valid.
We are all reacting. We see people rushing to the stores to stock up. We see people using humor. We see people brushing it aside. We're doing any number of those things. Shaming each other for our reactions doesn't motivate change. It causes people to feel emotionally unsafe when we're already feeling physically unsafe. It creates further distance between each other. Exercise compassion for yourself and how you're responding. Exercise compassion towards others and their response.
Breathe
We've learned that the virus can linger in the air up to 6 feet. I've found myself going about my day and holding my breath, as if afraid that I'll breathe it in. Notice if you've been holding your breath or if your breath has become shallow.
Our breath has the power to transform our mental, emotional, and physical state. It can shift us from anxiety and panic to calm. Start by taking a big inhale through the nose and an open mouth exhale and repeat 3 times.
Two Simple Breathing techniques to Ease Anxiety:
Lengthen your exhales. Inhale to a count of 4, exhale to a count of 6. Increase or decrease the numbers as needed to match your pace while maintaining a longer exhale.
Box Breath aka Square Breath. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Again, increase or decrease the number of seconds as needed, maintaining the same number of seconds for each inhale, hold, and exhale.
Connection is Crucial
Containment is crucial to slow or stop the spread. Closures are happening everywhere. Large gatherings are being banned. Quarantine. Isolation.
We're losing our physical connection with each other. We're advised to bump elbows instead of shaking hands. We need human connection for our mental health. Stay connected to your friends and loved ones. Call or Video chat each other instead of texting.
Many of us need physical touch as well. But there are so many who live alone or don't have someone to hug.
Reconnect with your own body. Self massage can help revitalize soothe your nervous system.
Ways to Self Massage
Hug yourself!
Mindfully apply lotion to your body after a shower or bath.
Foam Roll
Use your finger pads to massage your head.
Face Massage: Gently rub your temples. Place your thumbs at the bridge of your nose, right below your brow bone and press upwards while tracing your brow bone towards your temples. Place your fingers below your eyes and find the edge of your cheekbones. Start from just beyond your nose and press, trace outwards towards your temples. Open your mouth and massage your jaw muscles in your cheeks.
Rub your hands together to create heat, then place them over your eyes.
Give yourself a shoulder rub.
Gently squeeze your arms and legs.
Rub your belly after a meal.
Create fists and thump on your thighs.
Rub your feet
Find more tips by googling "self massage"
Invitation to Slow Down
Most of us work our asses off and go non-stop. Our world is slowing down with closures everywhere. People are being asked to work from home. In contrast to the panic and chaos that is happening at the grocery stores, use this time to break from your usual day-to-day. Move a little slower. Breathe slower. Give extra attention and mindfulness to what we might normally miss. Read. Journal. Observe the way the sunlight travels through your rooms. If the thought of slowing down seems impossible, observe that too.
Choose Love over Fear
In each moment, we have the choice to choose love or fear. When we are in a state of fear, we do not think clearly and may make unsound decisions. Continue to practice shifting out of fear through your own practices or the ones listed here. Continue to come back to choose love. How we act affects the people around us. Be the leader and example for coping in healthy ways.
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In Love Warrior, Glennon Doyle writes, "The Greek root of CRISIS is TO SIFT. It's what crises do—shake us until we hold only what matters most." When our health is at risk, we remember the importance of our bodies and our health. Without it, there is no existence. Take care of your body. Reach out to your loved ones. Remember what is truly important. Slow down. Choose Love.