How to tame Free-floating Anxiety in the age of Coronavirus
Look, I know things are very uncertain right now. Some of you are "socially distancing," some of you are stocking up on years’ worth of TP or waiting for hours-long lines just to get necessities for potentially being home-bound for a while.
I've been feeling very unsettled too. Celebrations that have been planned for years, cancelled. Trips postponed. Schools closed.
It's surreal and also can cause a lot of free-floating anxiety. If that is you, please read on. Even if you're not a worrier in general, the strategies I'm listing below are important for everyone. We're in this together and need each other more than ever.
I'm going to still keep showing up for you, however I can. I'm going to produce and create more free content for you and make sure you feel connected to me and each other, in any way we can, even if it has to be virtually.
Now that (for many, not all, I'm aware) so many of us are home-bound for a while, there is an opportunity here.
There's an opportunity for you to:
Start home projects you've been putting off
Learn more things online
Create more
Slow down and be more contemplative about what is important in your life and what you can let go of
Spend more time doing utterly mundane or fun things with your family. (we went hiking yesterday as a family, and it was so needed)
Cook and meal plan more** - if you've been wanting to learn how to batch cook, start baking more or even learning to cook balanced and healthy meals at home, this is an excellent time to start.
While we are living through unprecedented times, and a lot of unknowns - more than ever it's important to focus on stress reduction, mental health and to boost your vitality and immunity.
Below are 9 of my favorite ways to calm free floating anxiety and help fortify myself and create balance within myself when things around me are chaotic or out of my control. I truly hope some of these help.
Mood meter app (this app helps you identify emotions, regulate them and differentiate them. You will learn strategies and tools to respond to your emotions rather than get swept up in them)
Yoga Nidra - if you're having trouble sleeping or waking up at night with panic or anxiety, yoga Nidra can help. It's a type of sleep yoga that in as little as an hour or two can make up for weeks of lost REM sleep and give you more deep and restorative sleep
Grounding soups and stews - We are still in March folks. Making stews and soups with lots of root vegetables can help you feel more grounded which is essential for people prone to worry. Check out this recipe to start (it's the 4th recipe down).
Hot yoga - my local studio just moved to free-streaming yoga classes and it's just the lifeline I need right now. Call your local yoga or exercise studios and see if some are moving to online classes. Moving your body is important right now, however you can. Dance parties, gardening, spring cleaning - these all count!
Nature - Even if it's in your backyard. Being outside changes your perspective, releases feel-good neurotransmitters and can literally change your mood.
Music - music soothes the soul. In Italy, where most of the country is in lockdown, there are viral videos of opera singers and violinists singing and playing outside windows of Rome for all to hear and enjoy. Neuroscientists say that THIS song alone, can reduce anxiety by 65%!
Miso soup or twig tea - some studies have shown that Miso has certain minerals and properties in it that can quickly change your pH balance from acidic to alkaline and calm the nervous system.
Worry journal - sometimes we like to just hold all our worries and concerns in our head so we don't forget them and so we can work through them in our minds. But, I've found that writing in a worry journal helps me to get my worries out of my head (not to forget them but to address them later) and opens up more bandwidth in my brain for problem solving, creativity and joy)
4-7-8- breath technique and breath work in general. - I use this method all the time and guys, it WORKS. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, hold it for a count of 7 and then out through your mouth for a count of 8. Do this 4 times. It helps to turn off the amygdala in your brain which is the smoke detector to alert you that there is some sort of crisis that you need to address. If you can relax the amygdala you will beef up your prefrontal cortex, which will help you make calm and rational decisions.
Hang in there. Let's communicate, let's support one another. We owe it to ourselves more than ever to nurture and nourish ourselves, increase joy wherever we can and learn new skills to support a new way of life (for the time being).
I'm here for you.
Make sure you join my free private Facebook group for more support like this and a kick-ass community of over 1200 women and men who struggle with food challenges, just like you.