Coping with coronavirus: 6 helpful things to do at home to decrease anxiety
The outbreak of the coronavirus may be stressful for many. Fear and anxiety about COVID-19, your finances, caring for your loved one and social distancing can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Laura Rhodes-Levin, a licensed therapist who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety, depression, and trauma, offers some helpful practices we can do at home to cope with stress and anxiety. First she suggests spending time with family by cooking or gardening. “Distract yourself with cooking. Don’t go for perfection,” Rhodes-Levin says. “This is a time to get creative and find joy in the moment.” Next, she encourages adults and kids to exercise and stay active: “Have fun with chores.” Rhodes-Levin says to tap into your senses and listen to music. “Using your five senses is the best way to quiet your mind.” Bond with your family by watching your favorite movies and TV shows. “This is a good time to reinforce the family unit,” she says. “Laugh together … even cry together.” Next, she suggests fixing things around the house you’ve been putting off for some time. “Get things done. Get things off that to-do list.” Did you know that writing brings up positive endorphins? Therapist Rhodes-Levin says take time to write something that’s “meaningful and loving” in a journal. She assures us it’s normal to feel anxious right now. “Be careful but don’t be fearful.” For the latest news on the evolving coronavirus outbreak, please reference the CDC (www.cdc.gov) and WHO’s (www.who.int) resource guides.
Video Transcript
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LAURA RHODES-LEVIN: The coronavirus is bringing a lot of fear and stress into our homes, not only with health but with finances, how we deal with our elderly, social distancing. I'm Laura Rhodes-Levin, and here are six things that you can do at home to decrease your anxiety.
My first tip is have fun with this at home. There's cooking. There's crafts. There's gardening. Build a good old-fashioned fort. Distracting yourself with cooking-- don't go for perfection. It doesn't have to be the best grilled cheese sandwich you ever had. But enjoy it. Have fun with it. Choose to focus on something else besides only the virus.
Gardening is a great way to do it. A lot of people say, we don't have a big garden. Maybe you just have a front door outside of your apartment. Plant a little plant right outside your front door. This is a time to get creative and find joy in the moment.
My next tip is, exercise at home. Stay active. Have fun with chores. Do push-ups. Challenge each other to a little fitness challenge or challenge yourself to a fitness challenge. Have a jump-roping contest, or a sit-up contest, or just stretch.
Listen to music. Coming to your senses, using your five senses is one of the best ways to quiet your mind. Aromatherapy is another great way to relax. Any of your five senses are going to be a great way to shift your focus.
So the next tip is catch up on movies with the family. This is a good time to reinforce the family unit, laugh together. Even if it's a sad and heavy movie, crying together is a big release of tension. We want to release our tension.
Next, feel productive while you're fixing things. Fix things up around the house. We all have things that we have put off doing around the house. Take time to do the research if you're going to fix the plumbing under the sink. Get things done. Get things off that to-do list.
Another neat way to create positivity is writing. It doesn't take long, and it brings up positive endorphins when you actually write something out that's meaningful and loving.
It's normal to feel anxious right now. But anxiety starts with a thought. Change your thought, and you can do that very easily by occupying your body. Distract yourself with something that engages you. And guess what? You stop thinking about the things that bother you.
Check out the CDC for the proper updates. Stay informed. Be careful, but don't be fearful.
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