Strategies to assist with anxiety, panic, worry and stress

COVID-9 has brought monumental change to the way that each of us navigate our day-to-day lives. There is great uncertainty, and many people are worried about their health- both mental and physical, their finances, their careers, their families and their friends.

A common response to uncertainty, is anxiety, worry, stress and panic.

Anixety is characterised by both imagining the worst case scenario (catastrophising), and overestimating the likelihood of that scenario happening (jumping to conclusions). People with anxiety also generally underestimate their own capacity to cope and recover if the worst case happened.

It is important to manage anxiety by:

• reducing catastrophic thinking; remind yourself that it is a small minority that have serious illness from coronavirus, and the chance of death is very low
• if you are thinking the worst; ask yourself how many times, in other situations, have you thought the worst and it did not happen. Remember that anxiety makes us think the worst, and the worst is unlikely
• try to limit the amount of time you spend watching the news/checking for updates/talking to friends about coronavirus/reading social media information about coronavirus
• consider using the Australian Deparment of Health website and your local state health website (SA HEALTH) for updates
• notice when you are worrying; remind yourself that worry is unproductive, it is usually about things over which we have no actual control, and makes us feel bad. Productive problem-solving, on the other hand, is more useful, as it allows us to figure out what the problem is, and work out how to solve it. For example, if the problem is, say, how to continue to have contact with family and friends while self-isolating, and we focus our thinking onto that problem, there are many possible solutions.
• remember that worry is focused on a catastrophic future, and the only time we have control is IN THE NOW. When you notice yourself worrying, ask yourself is there anything I can do right now that will help this situation or make me feel better? Often the answer is that the best thing to do right now is something active, in the moment, that takes your attention onto something else.
• Try a mindfulness exercise, either a meditation such as body scan or breathing space meditation, or just paying attention to something outside your body, using your senses of sight, touch/movement, taste, hearing and smell, to distract yourself from worry, and improve your sense of enjoyment in the moment (some things that people find helpful are listening to music, playing with a pet, playing with children, having a shower and noticing the feeling and sound of the water, smelling flowers, walking, dancing, yoga, looking at colours in the environment, deep, calm, slow breathing)
• Use your social supports to help. Connect with others, online if needed. Some people are making social media groups to get together at designated times to chat, to play games, to draw, to read books, to share positive stories.
• Look after yourself: keep routines, limit alcohol and other unhelpful coping, eat well, exercise and play.