What Can You Do to Increase Your Resiliency ?
When COVID-19 fears feel overwhelming, ask yourself why? What is causing this fear? Is it from a personal experience, superstition, or just your imagination going to its darkest corner?
Are you reacting to a situation that has happened to someone else, that you have read of on social media, that someone told you happened to a friend of a friend, or unsettling stories in the news?
Knowing WHY you feel a certain way is the first step in becoming resilient.
Now that you know why you are experiencing this concern, think about what areas of your life your concern targets.
Is your COVID-19 concern targeting the idea of becoming ill, financial stress, job security or something else?
Do you think that this would really happen, or are you in the throes of amygdala hijack?
Take a deep breath. Breathing deeply helps create endorphins, which are naturally calming.
Breaking down what areas of your life that you fear your concern may negatively impact allows you to evaluate what the chances are of it realistically happening. Ensure that when doing so, you look at your information objectively, and rely on appropriate government-sanctioned websites or agencies for answers. There is no value in using incomplete or sensationalized sources to make determinations.
The final step is to develop positive options that will allow you to deal with the negative aspects of the situations that you may be worrying about.
Imagine the most rational thing that you could do to combat your COVID-19 fears, like eating nutritious food, getting adequate rest, using your PPE properly, reminding yourself that your employer is adhering to health and safety protocol, keeping contact with people that are important to you, and speaking to professionals if you need to.
There is no stigma in asking for assistance when it will ease your mind and help your workplace performance.
Exercise regularly and enjoy creative pursuits like writing or art to release happy endorphins.
With this in place, you now have a plan, and a backup plan should your concerns come to fruition.
Then reframe the situation and let go. Reframing allows you to see the situation in a different light. For example, instead of worrying that you may fall ill with COVID-19, you might instead appreciate your current health, and take comfort that you have the information necessary to take all reasonable precautions against getting ill.
Once you have done all that you can, you will realize that worrying is no longer serving your purpose.
You are building your resiliency capabilities.
Key Takeaways
But before you go, there are a few important key takeaways:
- Remember to limit COVID-19 information to official government websites
- Consider the source of your concerns
- Determine if concerns are realistic, or amygdala hijack
- Become more self-aware, and ask for clarification during interactions if you feel that someone is being unduly harsh
- Look at your concerns and possible solutions rationally
- Use wellness or creativity to feel better about it
Seek professional help if you need more assistance, and remember…
Your resiliency gets stronger the more it is practiced!
Stay Well and Stay Positive!
