5 Tips On Tackling Anxiety Due To The Coronavirus

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is sure to be causing a lot of anxiety, fear, worry and general disturbances in your life because, after all, we are living through unprecedented times. 

News about the coronavirus changes every day and it can get really tiring and difficult to keep up with it. However, it’s important to remember that you are not alone. We all react differently to changes in our lives and something as serious as this is absolutely anxiety-inducing. It’s not something you need to apologize for, but it is something you can work on as we hopefully come to a positive conclusion to this pandemic.

You can make some easy and simple changes in your life right now to help cope with your mental health and, in doing so, you will be able to better take care of yourself and your loved ones. 

Here are 5 tips to tackle anxiety due to the coronavirus while self-isolating and staying at home.

1. Consider your source material

People who suffer from anxiety often do so because of the changes in their lives that they cannot control. In a bid to cope with this pandemic, we may find ourselves trying to understand everything about the coronavirus, including the number of cases that have risen worldwide, the timeline of a vaccine for the disease, the rising death tolls, etc. It’s not wrong to stay informed but the problem is that you might be getting your information from websites that have agendas of their own. Misinformation and contradicting facts are key contributors to declining mental health. 

As such, find a source material that you can trust, be it your country’s main health or government website. Find respectable journalists who write to inform and not to scaremonger. Fact-check information before you share it on your social media platforms so as not to incite anxiety in others who are in the same boat as you. 

Furthermore, you may have to consider reducing the time you spend reading, watching or listening to information about the pandemic, especially when it’s hard to keep up as news of it is constantly changing. Allowing the outbreak to dominate so much of your day will inevitably affect the daily activities of your life and that in itself will cause severe anxiety. 

2. Make daily plans

Make daily plans of things you enjoy, or at-home errands you can do, while self-isolating. This is a good way to feel more prepared and productive. Knowing what your day ahead will consist of will keep you distracted from all the coronavirus talk while also giving you something to look forward to. 

Try to think about what a normal day would look like for you under normal circumstances and implement some of that (if you can) while at home. This should give you some semblance of control which should in turn help with anxiety. 

3. Your physical health is just as important

Make no mistake about it, your physical health plays a major part in your mental wellbeing. Both your physical and mental health work together to create either a harmonic or chaotic feeling within you. Which category you fall into is entirely up to you. 

As such, try to maintain a healthy diet that comprises of balanced meals, nutrition-boosting snacks, plenty of water and regular exercise. Just because you are home doesn’t mean you need to fall into bad habits. Avoid smoking or drugs and keep an eye on your alcohol consumption. 

These are unhealthy behavior patterns that contribute to poor mental health by affecting your quality of sleep, aggravating your mood, or making you ill.  All of which in turn makes you vulnerable to the pandemic. 

Consider your physical health and see about making positive changes to alleviate your anxiety. 

4. Try to stay connected to your loved ones

Staying connected with the people we trust and love the most is incredibly crucial for our mental health. Be it via phone calls, text messages, video calls or online messaging, talking to others can bring you a level of peace and love that destresses you. By talking to different people, it may also help you gain a positive perspective of things or a balanced view of the situation. 

When trapped in your mind it’s easy to run away with worrying and overblown thoughts. Speaking to loved ones helps ground us which in turn makes us feel better about the future. You may not be able to physically see or feel them but hearing their voice will still go a long way in helping your anxiety. 

5. Focus on the now rather than the future

One of the biggest contributors to anxiety is worrying about the future and knowing that you have little to no control over it. Focusing on the now is important because it keeps you present. This way you can tackle difficult emotions without letting them fester. Staying present may even allow you to enjoy the small things in life right now, like the time and space to maybe get around to the things you haven’t otherwise had the time for. 

If you still struggle to stay present, implementing relaxation techniques may help. Consider meditation, yoga, or mindfulness as these are great tools in tackling anxiety under any circumstances, coronavirus or not. 

Above all else, here at Fizzy Mag, we hope that you’re all staying safe and healthy and that continues to be the case throughout this pandemic. Together we can combat this if we all stay calm and follow the rules. We hope that these 5 tips help you along the way!