Fairface Podcast Episode 6: 3 Ways to Calm your Worry during the Coronavirus
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3 Ways to Calm your Worry during the Coronavirus
During this time of uncertainty with the Coronavirus, it can be easy to get caught in a cycle of worry and anxiety. Today I share with you 3 ways to calm your worry and bring yourself back to a place of peace and calm.
Hey everyone, I appreciate you being here today and hope to share some words of encouragement as our world goes through this time of great uncertainty with this Coronavirus. And I really hope you and your families are doing well, and know that we're thinking about you and sending out our happiest, healthiest vibes your way!
I've actually been thinking about doing this podcast for a week or so, as things in the world have been escalating, but wasn't sure I had anything new or life changing to share. But last night as I tried to fall asleep and all the worries took over, I knew that even if no one listened to this at all, it might actually help me put things back into perspective instead of staying on the path of worry and unease - so hopefully if you are feeling the same way, these ideas can help bring you a sense of structure, of comfort, security and positivity despite our current circumstances.
So today I'd like to share 3 ways we can start to bring, hopefully, ourselves back to a place of calm, instead of being trapped in all the worry. And I came up with these 3 things and hope that they might be something that you can apply to your lives.
The first way, that we can start to bring ourselves back to a state of calm is to create a sense of certainty.
[#1 Create a Sense of Certainty]
The thing is, when we feel out of control, the harder we try to latch on to controlling the thing we can't control and what it does, is it actually makes us feel worse and even more helpless.
The truth is, there are some things we can't control but there are other things that we can.
By taking charge of the things we have the freedom to control, or adjust in a healthy way, we will begin to feel a greater sense of certainty and order in our lives.
Having that sense of certainty will make such a difference to you and the people in your home. Because you, and they, will then know what to expect.
Now I know that many of our lives have been turned upside down, so getting a sense of certainty or assemblance of order can help take the edge off of all this change.
As as for us here at Fairface, I'm grateful we are healthy and well and are still able to continue to serve our customers and Fairface community.
So how can you bring back a sense of certainty in your own life? Maybe it can start with things like:
Creating a daily schedule. I'm hearing from people that creating a schedule to follow every day is making a huge difference.
With so many people off work, or working from home, and having their kids at home this has turned many lives upside down. So everyone is off kilter and keeping some assemblance of normalcy and routine will make a huge difference. By creating a daily schedule for yourself and your kids (I would suggest even creating your schedule with your kids if they are old enough) it will give you all an understanding of what to expect each day and that can bring levels of stress and uncertainty down instead of each day being a guessing game - what do we do today with all these hours?
Something else that you could do would be, in line with creating a sense of certainty in your life, is taking the time to plan your meals out.
Keeping a set dinner time each night.
Making sure that you set your bedtime routines and keep those the same.
Try to keep things as consistent as possible and as much like before everything temporarily changed, especially for kids, to keep their sense of security. So all of those things make a huge difference.
And as far as the virus is concerned, if you are doing everything you can, you're following the safety recommendations from the CDC and from the government, you are doing what you can and that is when you have to let a little bit with the unknown go, and trust that you are doing everything you can and just own that, instead of, you know, sitting in the worry.
Trying to keep your routines as normal as possible, is really important.
If you meditated every morning, before all the changes, keep doing that.
If you went to the gym every day, try to create a different type of exercise routine.
Keeping up with all the things that you would normally do if you could, even if it's a modified form of that thing.
Keeping these consistencies can give you a sense of comfort and security and that passes on to your family. And remember, if you take care of yourself, you are much more able to take care of those who need you.
The 2nd way, I found, to bring yourself back to calm during this time of uncertainly, is to channel your energy.
[#2 Channel Your Energy]
We know this is a time of high energy - mostly in our minds. It's a time that brings a lot of nervous and anxious energy with the confusion and worry that swirls around in our heads - I swear you can almost feel it, it's almost electric.
The thing about high energy, is that it can actually work to your advantage if you redirect or channel your energy to something other than worry. It's so easy to get caught in a cycle of worry and anxiety that just spins us to nowhere.
I think I've mentioned this before, but I love Rachel Hollis' [@msrachelhollis] saying, to get out of your head and into your body. Redirecting or channeling this high energy that we already have in our minds, into our bodies, to get something accomplished, will be way more beneficial to us instead of it just swirling around in our heads.
How can you channel your high energy, that's already there, and direct it to accomplishing something?
My cousin once told me she cleans when she's nervous. So maybe this is the time to
deep clean your house. Maybe it's time to clean out and de-clutter your storage room, or rearrange your furniture. Or go through and organize all the paper in your house.
Maybe now's a good time to go thru your kids' rooms with them, now that they're home, or through all of the art work they've brought home from school. Maybe you want to work on a scrapbook or do a project you've been putting off...with the idea, if I only had extra time I'd do this...what would that be? Maybe now's the time that you can put your energy into that.
You could have a dance party with your kids - that will really get the high energy out. When I worked at a school we loved playing freeze dance with the kids - where you play a song, the kids go dance crazy and dance and dance and dance and then you turn the music off and see who moves or falls down, and they're out. Lots of fun and definitely a way that the kids can get their energy out.
You know the energy you give out will be felt and absorbed among those who live with you, so just try to think about how you can redirect this high energy and help them channel their energy in a positive way, as well.
The last way I'm going to share, to bring yourself back to a place of calm, is to bring positive things in.
[#3 Bring Positive Things In]
This is huge right now and I'll admit it, I really need this myself. I get caught up in looking up the latest facts and figures about the corona virus and that can spiral quickly for me. How many cases are there in the world, how many cases are in my state, what about each county, do they know which cities? How fast is it rising? All of those things.
And really? It gets me nowhere productive. It gets me nowhere positive. It only leads me to feeling more worry and distress.
Because the truth is, even if I have that latest information, and statistics, how will it really HELP me? We have prepared. We are in a good place. We have enough of the essentials and we did not even need to go out and hoard toilet paper because we already had some extra on hand!
I know what to do to be careful. I'm still taking precautions. I'm practicing social distancing. I'm aware of what I need to do to stay healthy and I have what I need. So there really is no need to keep up on all the newest statistics, other than to be aware and to be educated, but it's important to choose when and how to be informed and then turn it off.
Think of it this way, if we focused all day every day on the stock market we'd probably lose our minds because those numbers fluctuate so much. They can be so high one day and then way down the next day. And instead, by looking at quarterly summary statements instead of the ups and downs, I don't feel so crazy.
Now, I'm not saying it's not good to be informed, because it is. It is important to be aware and educated, but it's important to choose when and how much you want to be informed and by reputable sources that will actually HELP you, not just worry you.
Ok, so how do we bring positivity, more positive things, into our lives?
It can be as simple as...what kind of music do you love to listen to? And listen to more of that.
Where is one of your favorite outdoor places? Go there if you can (remembering to keep your distance from people) but taking time to get outdoors, and even better, if you can get into the woods or by a lake, or a river or an ocean. Water can be so calming to listen to and even just look at.
I found on youtube, that there are people who have actually gone out and recorded sitting in the forest, so you hear all the birds singing and chirping and the leaves in the trees rustling in the breeze. It's so peaceful. If you can't get outside, listen to the birds chirping for 10 minutes and it can transport you in your mind (kind of like a meditation) and it can be really calming.
I would suggest listening to an inspiring book, or read something (in paperback) that's inspiring, every day.
Watch funny movies or videos. Are you a funny cat video person? I'm actually a dog person but I have been known to watch funny baby videos on youtube from time to time and they're totally adorable. They always make me laugh or just feel better. So, there's that.
Just as a side note, now is not the time to watch scary movies, or, oh my goodness, that movie, I think it's called Contagion or Outbreak, which basically we're living right now. And I just think we don't need to add more fuel to the fire.
Whether we know it or not, watching these things add stress and negativity to our psyche and they can negatively impact our thoughts and feelings and increase worry and stress, even if the things we watch aren't related to the corona virus, or being sick. It still brings that negativity and stress to our system. So now is the time to bring positivity in, not stress.
Maybe you like following funny or positive people on Instagram. I like following Kate from the small things blog [ @K8_smallthings ] she's a positive person who keeps me feeling positive when I watch her feed and you all know that I follow Jenn from @theramblingredhead - she always makes me laugh. So any of those types of things can just help bring some positivity in.
And, of course, it's hard right now because we've been told to distance ourselves from people, which also includes family members who don't live with us. Like right now I can't be with my parents and my sister and her family - even though people are close, we're not supposed to get together with them because we might be bringing something to them, or visa versa. So, just connecting with your family and friends is important and maybe we just do it differently for a while. Maybe you send a quick email or you give them a phone call or maybe you can do face time or texting just to reach out.
I work with a group of youth in our church congregation and we're trying to figure out how to have some sort of virtual book club for the kids since we can't meet together. So, be creative, in these different ways of trying to connect, when you can't actually be with people.
So just to conclude, by creating a sense of certainty and order to your routine, by channeling this high energy that we have right now in a positive way and by bringing more positive things into your mind and your life, I sure hope that you will find yourself feeling a greater sense of calm and comfort and security right now.
I know that things are uncertain, and just know you are in our thoughts and our prayers to bring health and healing back to our world and to each one of us. So absolutely wishing you the best and thank you so much for being here, and I will see you next time.
How are YOU feeling right now during this time of change and uncertainty? Let us know in the comments below.
You can also reach out to us through our Instagram and Facebook pages. We'd love to connect with you!
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