The COVID19 pandemic has impacted most of us in some way or another. Even if you have not personally had the virus or don’t know anybody who has, chances are that you have had to change your life in some way due to the events of the last eighteen months. From not being able to go out and see friends and family or take part in events you’d normally go to, to dealing with job losses, financial problems, and the risk of vulnerable family members catching the virus, it’s no surprise that anxiety levels are high as a result of the events of the past year and a half.
Anxiety can be a debilitating condition that leaves you second-guessing everything that you do. Anxiety is a normal response in the body and mind to frightening circumstances and can sometimes be good for us. For example, anxiety is what stops you from running out into the road into the path of an oncoming car or jumping over the side of a balcony. However, anxiety can become a problem in our everyday lives when it begins to cause us to be fearful of most things. Anxiety can lead to a lot of irrational fears and fears about things that are incredibly unlikely to happen, but the fear feels extremely real.
For those of us who have suffered through the pandemic, there are lots of reasons to be anxious. Fear about losing your job, losing your home, or even losing family members and friends to the virus are all extremely valid and real these days. However, for some people, anxiety is becoming a problem that they are struggling to deal with and overcome. Anxiety might hold you back from getting where you want to be in life post-pandemic. Along with anxiety regarding all the bad things that might happen as a result of the situation, social anxiety, which is a fear of social situations and anxiety around interacting with people, has also grown as a result of people spending more time inside and interacting with others less.
Signs You Might Have COVID19 Related Anxiety:
Even if nothing bad has happened to you personally as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, this doesn’t make anybody immune to the impact of anxiety. Anxiety can often hit as a result of simply seeing what is going on around us and how easy it is right now for anybody’s world to change in seconds. Even if you have a secure job that you have managed to keep throughout the pandemic and your financial situation is stable, there might be anxiety surrounding catching the virus and dying from it, worries about the vaccine, or anxiety about the possibility that the world might simply never get back to normal.
This is all quite common today, and very normal if you are experiencing this right now. If you’re struggling with your everyday life as a result, a clinical mental health counseling service can help you make sense of these often confusing and scary feelings. Online therapy is now more accessible than ever and providers in your state will usually be covered by most insurance companies, allowing you to access help and support from somebody who understands what you are going through from the comfort and safety of your own home.
Symptoms of Anxiety:
can vary from person to person and they might show up differently in certain situations. Some people with anxiety have an extreme fear of leaving the house while others begin to have intrusive thoughts about bad things happening, either to themselves or the people that they love. Anxiety can sometimes feel like there is always an impending sense of doom and that something is going to go wrong, even when you are safe at home and relaxing. In some cases, anxiety can lead to symptoms such as irritability, stomach aches, headaches, panic attacks, hyperventilating, trouble breathing, trouble sleeping, sleeping too much, struggling at work or school, isolating yourself, no longer being able to enjoy the activities that you once did, and feeling tense and stiff all or most of the time.
Anxiety can also often lead people to over-prepare for hypothetical situations. Many people with anxiety feel safer when they have put the effort in to think about every possible thing that could go wrong – however, this can make anxiety symptoms worse. In addition, anxiety can also hold you back from starting anything new or doing things that you once enjoyed due to these fears. Because of this, it can be a highly debilitating condition that can have a massive impact on your life.
Impact of Anxiety on Relationship and Work:
Anxiety does not just impact your mental and physical health. When you are suffering from anxiety, it can also have a significant impact on your personal relationships and your work relationships. Some people with anxiety do not feel safe around anybody and are often feeling anxious that even the people who are closest to them will not be able to help or protect them – or even worse, are actively out to get them. This, of course, can put a lot of strain on romantic relationships and friendships.
People with anxiety might also struggle in the workplace as they are often dealing with overwhelming fears of losing their job or being disciplined, even if there is nothing to suggest that this is going to happen. Anxiety might cause you to be less confident in the work that you do, or the physical symptoms of anxiety could affect you to the point where you are struggling to get the work done.
The Best Ways to Deal With COVID19 Related Anxiety:
Firstly, understand that if your anxiety levels have heightened as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, you are not alone. Today, anxiety is a huge problem that much of the population is facing due to prolonged time within a scary and uncertain situation. The good news is that there is help and support available and several things that you can do to take back control of your life and reduce the anxiety that you are dealing with.
Therapy:
Getting therapy is one of the best ways to deal with anxiety. When you are alone with your anxiety, it is easy to ruminate and focus only on your anxious point of view. Working with a therapist provides you with a supportive and non-judgemental person who can give you a fresh perspective and encourage you to look at certain things differently. They can rationalize many of your fears for you and help you learn how to look at things as they are, rather than spending time worrying about what might happen. There are several different types of therapy to consider. CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy is an ideal treatment option for anxiety since this type of therapy is designed to help you retrain your brain to look at things and handle situations in a different way.
Breathing Exercises:
are an ideal solution that you can use at any time when you begin to feel like your anxiety is taking over. No matter the situation that you are in, most people can usually tell when they are beginning to feel anxious. Learn to recognize your personal symptoms of anxiety whether that is a racing heart, a stomach ache, shallow breathing, or sweating. Once you feel these symptoms coming on, deep breathing will help to slow your heart rate down and bring your body into a state of calm once again, helping you get back in control and avoid escalation into a panic attack or other symptoms that are often harder to get back in control of.
Mindfulness and Meditation:
Meditation and mindfulness can be an ideal way to deal with anxiety on a day-to-day basis. Guided meditations are an ideal choice for people with anxiety who often have racing thoughts and would find it difficult to relax and meditate in a quiet room. You can find many free guided meditation sessions that you can access on sites like YouTube or Spotify to turn on and listen to when you are feeling anxious about something.
Exercise and Health:
It is important to not neglect your health when you are dealing with feelings of fear and anxiety. Regular exercise can be one of the best ways to combat anxiety, releasing ‘feel good’ chemicals that will improve your mood and help you feel more confident in yourself and your situation. In addition, regular exercise in a place such as a local gym can help you regain your confidence when it comes to going out and spending time around people, which might have become difficult for those who have spent a lot of time at home as a result of the pandemic. However, if you’re not feeling up to that yet, home workouts can have a great impact. Going out for a walk in the fresh air can make a huge difference to how you feel and help you get your anxiety under control especially when used together with other treatments like CBT.
Worldwide anxiety levels are higher than ever as a result of the pandemic. If you’re feeling more anxious than usual right now, you’re not alone.
