Crisis situations, whether personal or social, bring about a sudden change in our habits. Our behaviours and the activities we are used to doing without even thinking can change at any time.
In some cases, we do not have control over the situation; it is an external factor that alters our lives. But we can always control the way we act (or react) when faced with these situations.
I don’t have a formula, and each of us deals with crises in different ways. In these periods, it is normal to feel sad, confused and scared. Stress, anxiety and negative emotions must be stopped. To confront them with greater awareness it is necessary to maintain a positive attitude.
What can we do against anxiety and stress?
- Moving, if possible. Take a walk in the open air. If you cannot go out, do exercise at home, dance, do yoga, stretching or any activity that requires movement (you can find many alternatives online)*. This will allow you to sleep better.
- Get help: get in touch with family and friends, get help from a health care professional. Identify your discomfort, collect information that may help you to accurately determine the risks in order to make informed decisions. Get information from reliable sources.
- Create something new: focus your attention on creating something new: drawing, knitting, building or repairing something, painting a room, or making a kitchen garden. There are plenty of alternatives. Find one and begin: this will allow your mind to rest and you will be able to deal more clearly with the problem or the situation.
- Eat healthily and drink water: eating healthily and staying hydrated will help you be active and focused.
- Breathe deeply: deep breaths offer several benefits. The first one is to immediately feel calm and relieved. Here there are some tips on how to be able to take deep breaths:
- Listen to music: listen to the music you like. Sing out loud! Dopamine will be released and you will immediately feel happier, with more energy and less stress.
- Be in the present: this is achieved by paying deliberate and unprejudiced attention to the present moment, to the hic et nunc. The objective is to promote greater acceptance and self-awareness.
- Write and/or read: write about your mood; this will help you to process negative events and to reduce anxiety. Reading will take you to a parallel world, you will forget about your tension and you will relax a bit more.
* In these times of sanitary emergency, #StayAtHome. Imagine the walks we will take when this is all over!
Source: https://idexpansive.com/cosa-fare-contro-ansia-e-stress/
