Aware Living Now by Women Telling Their Stories

 

I know that the last year and a half has been chaotic and frightening. Before I go on, study this photo, take a deep breath, and relax your nervous system.

One of the issues presented to me hour after hour in my psychotherapy practice was the fear of having additional anxiety added to our normal lives that COVID and its messiness brought to our lives. Let me say this about the appropriateness to the anxiety we have all felt. This anxiety has been a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. Okay, read that again and then a third time.

My point: although the anxiety is unpleasant not feeling high anxiety to all COVID did to our lives, nations, and the world, would have been inappropriate. There is no way anyone could have gone through the last year and a half and not felt acute anxious. I don't care who you are.

Hopefully, that will ease your mind a little. Here is a list of things to help you assimilate and work through some of this anxiety:

1. Write about the elements in your anxiety such as fear of death, loss of job, loss of family, loss of personal control. This anxiety was riddled with fears about many things and still is.

2. Sit in nature and have some quiet time. I know being quiet is tough for many of you but it is imperative that you give your nervous system some relief from the craziness of it all.

3. Eat simple and calming foods: cooked veggies, rice, baked potatoes. No hot spicy foods, no heavy cheesy foods and yes Baked Ziti is my comfort food but I don't eat it when I need to help by body.

4. Drink water and lots of it.

5. Get a message or acupuncture.

6. Walk - keep your body moving. I recommend your walk be a stroll. This is not the time to push your stressed out body.

7.  Pray, meditate - get into your soul and be there -- simply be there.

Know that you are doing your best suffering through the unimaginable. Practice the above items on a daily basis and visualize a white light of hope. Our nation, and you in your own life, have gone through many challenges in the past. You and me and all of us will get through this too. But we will do it together. What one heart cannot handle alone, a million hearts can handle together.  

Blessings,

Jan