5 Tips For Managing Your Anxiety About Coronavirus

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, is all over the news. Everywhere, we see evidence of people’s fears about the virus. Hand sanitizer is hard to find. Organizers are cancelling conferences and events. When I traveled to the west coast last weekend, I saw many people at the airport wearing masks over their nose and mouth.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the reported cases have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and, in some instances, death. Symptoms may appear from two days to two weeks after a person is exposed to the virus. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.

COVID-19 is a lot like the flu except it’s a new virus—one that got transmitted from animals to humans—and we don’t have a vaccine yet. So that is a little frightening.

But, it’s hard to know how concerned we should be. Some news reports leave me worried and scared, and some leave me reassured and wondering why we’re all in a panic.

The hardest part of getting sick is that we have very little control over whether we get sick. Our lack of control can make the worry, stress and anxiety much worse. So, how do we manage our stress when we can’t control an outcome?

There’s no tool that can take the COVID-19 worries away. The virus is out there. But you can do a few things to help you feel more grounded and present, and hopefully reduce your stress in the moment.

1. Wash Your Hands

The CDC recommends washing your hands as one of the best means of prevention—much better than wearing a mask. On the other hand, if you’re sick, wear a mask and keep your germs to yourself.

And you can make washing your hands a mindful moment. Experts recommend that you should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds to rid them of germs. As you’re counting down the time, listen to the water as is flows out of the faucet, smell the soap’s fragrance, watch it lather and notice the feeling of the lather in your hands. As you rinse your hands, watch the lather flow down the drain. When your minds goes to worries or stress about the coronavirus, bring your attention back to the sensations of washing your hands.

2. Stop Touching Your Face

The CDC also recommends keeping your hands away your face. Let me tell you, this is really hard. I’ve caught myself picking something out of my teeth with my finger (I know, TMI) and rubbing my eyes without any thought to all to the germs that might be on my hands. Try not to judge yourself too harshly if you forget, too. We’re human and we have a lot of habits that aren’t easy to break.

3. Avoid Information Overload

A lot of information is flying around out there, so managing your information intake is important. I try not to check the news about the virus more than once a day, but someone or something can bring me news even when I’m not looking for it. 

If you do hear disturbing facts or updates about the virus, remind yourself that there are some things that you can’t control and that you’re doing the best you can to control the things that are within your power to control.

4. Breathe Deeply

A few deep breaths can calm your nervous system and boost your immune system. A few times a day—especially if you feel stressed—take three slow, deep breaths. Fill your lungs, back and belly when you inhale. As you exhale, let your breath out slowly, making a sighing noise—haaaaaahh.

5. Take Care of Yourself

From news reports, most hospitals and doctors’ offices want you to stay home if you’re sick, UNLESS you’re having difficulty breathing and/or your fever is very high.

If you do get sick, don’t panic. Most people who get the virus don’t die. Take care of yourself and do all the things you’d do if you got the flu. Drink a lot of fluids. Keep your fever down and get lots of rest so your body can heal.

If you have a compromised immune system or existing lung issues and you think you have COVID-19, communicate with your doctor so you can get the help you need.

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If you enjoyed this blog post and would like more insights into living with anxiety, tune into the Woman Worriers podcast. In each weekly 30-minute episode, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, and her guests explore living with anxiety, relationships, parenting, surviving trauma and other topics and offer insights into mindfulness, meditation and other helpful resources.

Elizabeth Cush, LCPC is a therapist, blogger,  creator and host of the Woman Worriers podcast, and the owner of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md and she’s been featured in these major publications. Elizabeth helps busy, overwhelmed men and women manage their anxiety and stress so they can live their lives with more ease, contentment and purpose. If you'd like to know more about how individual, online and group therapy can help ease anxiety and stress, contact me!

Medical Anxiety: When We Worry About What's Going On Wtih Our Bodies

Anxiety comes from many sources: old physical and emotional wounds, trauma and childhood emotional neglect, just to name a few. The feelings from these issues are often buried below the surface, and anxiety bubbles up when we feel distressed.

Other times, our anxiety stems from things that are much more tangible, like infertility, miscarriages or medical conditions that we have little control over. On the Woman Worriers podcast these last two weeks, we explored how polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and infertility can impact women’s anxiety, their health and their sense of self. These and other medical conditions can leave us feeling anxious and depressed and can cause strain in our relationships. 

We end up feeling like our bodies are the enemy because they’re not conforming to societal and biological norms. Our sense of control and well-being is disrupted when medical conditions impact how we feel about our bodies. These concerns can shake our sense of self and leave us feeling like we no longer “fit-in” or that there’s something “wrong” with us.

Suffering In Silence

Dealing with very personal medical problems is especially hard because talking about them can make us feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. We’re not sure how others will react. We’re not sure if we even want to share what’s happening. We end up feeling isolated and alone. This can be especially the case if, when we seek medical help, the healthcare provider isn’t able to diagnose and treat your condition right away or dismisses your symptoms. That can leave us feeling as though maybe we’re imaging the problem.

 I’ve heard stories from women whose physicians told them that their fatigue, their physical pain, or their menstrual cycles wouldn’t be a problem if they’d just loose weight, gain weight, take better care of themselves, not worry so much…. And while all of those things might cause other medical issues, these women had diagnosable conditions that were ignored or the women were blamed for the symptoms by doctors who didn’t take time to listen and look for a cause.

We’re left feeling like it’s all in our head, or our body is the problem. If it would just stop feeling so _______ (you fill in the blank) we’d be fine.

Don’t Assume It’s Your Imagination

But women are prone to get certain medical conditions that are often overlooked. Many women’s-health issues are under-researched and physicians receive little education about them. If our physician isn’t willing to dig a little deeper, we’re left to figure it out for ourselves.

Reach out for support

I can remember when my peri-menopausal symptoms began. I was convinced I had early-onset dementia. I was so forgetful and clumsy. It was hard to focus my attention on anything. I was scared, and scared to talk about it. In my worried mind, I would go over and over whether it was better to know if I had dementia and live accordingly or better to move forward in ignorance and just live my life.

I finally talked to my sister, who is older than I am, and she shared some of her friends’ experiences with menopausal symptoms. I realized the forgetfulness and clumsiness were frustrating but temporary. I was relatively young to be starting menopause, so I didn’t have friends who had gone through it. I had no idea how impactful hormonal changes could be on my mental health. If I hadn’t talked about it, I would have struggled through that time being more anxious and worried than I needed to be.

Reach Out To Resources

If you feel that your symptoms aren’t being taken seriously and there are medical issues you’re concerned about, keep pushing for better answers. Ask for help if you feel the process is causing you to feel anxious or depressed. Explore online forums, ask friends, search out non-profit organizations and mental health clinicians that can work with you.

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If you enjoyed this blog post and would like more insights into living with anxiety, tune into the Woman Worriers podcast. In each weekly 30-minute episode, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, and her guests explore living with anxiety, relationships, parenting, surviving trauma and other topics and offer insights into mindfulness, meditation and other helpful resources.

Elizabeth Cush, LCPC is a therapist, blogger,  creator and host of the Woman Worriers podcast, and the owner of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md and she’s been featured in these major publications. Elizabeth helps busy, overwhelmed men and women manage their anxiety and stress so they can live their lives with more ease, contentment and purpose. If you'd like to know more about how individual, online and group therapy can help ease anxiety and stress, contact me!