Anxiety During the Coronavirus - Part 2: Take a Chill Pill - NOT! Better Ways to Manage Anxiety

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Whether anxious about the coronavirus or something else, many people reach for substances, like alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs. Drugs like Xanax or Ativan, while prescribed by a physician, are actually more dangerous than pot and alcohol. You need not avoid alcohol, but 1) do not increase your consumption during this, or any other difficult life period, 2) be mindful that while it may calm your anxiety, it’s a depressant that can leave you feeling more blue and give you less energy to do positive things, and 3) with all anxiety reducing drugs, there’s a rebound effect which often makes the anxiety worse once the drug wears off.  Moreover, there are many strategies that are calming, safe, and actually more effective in the long haul. 

“Don’t think about Coronavirus.” That’s terrible advise! Trying to not think about something makes you think about it even more. What’s more if you try to not think about something anxiety producing like COVID-19, you’re even more likely to think about it than when trying to not think about something neutral, like a blue chair. Actually allowing yourself to think about it briefly and then gently moving your mind to something else is key. Gently switching the channel to something better, like a relaxation strategy you already know or some of the other strategies you will read about in upcoming blog posts, is recommended. The following are some relaxation strategies:

Breathing

Forget about everything you’ve heard about how to breathe and instead just observing your breathing. Feeling the air coming in and out of your nose for a few breaths….Noticing the sound it makes for a few more…… Noticing if the air you’re breathing in feels cooler than the air you’re breathing out…….Feeling your lungs expanding as you breathe in……and relaxing as you breathe out….noticing that your belly is rising as you breathe in….. relaxing as you breath out…… Noticing the pauses in your breathing. Noticing a brief pause after you breathe in….and enjoying the longer pause after you breath out. Closing your eyes and just observing this for a minute or two. If you only read this, please go back and try it.

Add, thinking the word peace as you breathe in and calm as you breathe out. During the next quiet pause after you breathe out thinking the number 5. ON the following quiet pause the number 4. Thinking one lower number for each quiet pause, counting all the way down to zero. When you get to zero, taking one more breath and then opening your eyes or switching to another relaxation strategy. You can also visualize breathing in a relaxing color while gently breathing out the color your anxiety feels like it is or use different words instead of peace and calm.

Mindful Acceptance

Fighting anxiety fuels anxiety. So don’t fight it, invite it. This is mindful acceptance. There are several metaphors for how this works, but the most classic is the Chinese Finger Trap.  The harder you try to get out of it, the more it grips you. When you accept that you are stuck and let go of the struggle it’s more comfortable, you’re less stuck, and you can easily use your thumbs to get free. Or if you’re a Harry Potter fan, think of The Devil’s Snare and say to yourself “being Hermoine" if you’re a female or “being Harry” if you’re a guy. There are recordings of acceptance strategies that I usually only give to people who have purchased my Anxiety, Worry, & Depression Workbook.  But during this difficult time, I’m giving them to you today absolutely free. Go to anxietystlouispsychologist.com/free (It’s a hidden page).

Mindfulness

All worry is about the future and all regret is about the past. Therefore, when we are in the moment we are free from worry and regret. One way to be in the moment is to engage in activities that automatically keep you in the present like reading, cooking, gardening, or dancing. Another way is by focusing on your senses.  It’s also helpful to be mindful of your thoughts, as well as labeling your thoughts and feelings. The free recordings I’m giving you include all these forms of mindfulness. 

I have several other relaxation strategies I’ll present in later blogs. For more in depth strategies now, I suggest my aforementioned workbook or my Melt Worry & Relax Card Deck (There’s a kid version too). 

Look for my upcoming blog on coping with the coronavirus: Laugh and Cry. 

Jennifer L. Abel, Ph.D.