Ctrl Shift Worry (Pandemic Edition)
8 Tips to Overcome Worry and Rumination during a Crisis.
Our world is in a Public Health Crisis. Our minds are running with some many thoughts, it can be hard to begin to name them and its stressing you out. On top of that it can be difficult to recognize and express helpful ways of thinking about your current stressors. Your thoughts may try to tell you that you are helping yourself by worrying & rumination but, on some level we know that it is not helpful. Often we become stuck because we are not sure what to do next. Your worrying magnifies your stressor by bring up more negative possibilities. Negative thoughts lead to another negative thought and then you start to feel stressed. To take it a step further, rumination is a persistent and repetitive worry that is often associated with increase depression and anxiety over time. Please note that if you are ruminating when you are down, you may begin to feel worse. It is important now than ever to gain some type of understanding of thoughts and move them in a new direction. Below are some tools to move you in the direction of recognizing your worry and rumination and started moving towards more helpful thoughts during this time.
1. The purpose of WORRY is to PLAN. Begin by asking yourself, how helpful is the worry. Are you actually finding solutions when you worry or finding concrete plan to implement? Are seeing solutions in a new light or after thinking about the problem you feel, worst. If you are unable to find new solutions and new perspective and actually feeling worst, then your worrying is considered unhelpful and it is time to focus on somethings else.
2. Practice thought Stopping. As soon as you notice yourself worrying or ruminating, begin to visualize a big red STOP sign. Yell STOP aloud in your and even raise your hand to signal you to STOP. Or visualize a detour sign, directing you unto a new mental track.
3. Create a WORRY Corner. Designate a place in your home or work. Identify which chair/space will be your worry corner. Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes 2-3 times a day. Write down the worry in the area. Leave them there. Soon your brain will learn to associate your worry corner with worries and all other activities will be associate with the absent of worry. This activity allow you worry about the pandemic, finance, work, family, health during a control, timed limited way.
4. Picture it. Picture your worries as bubbles popping in the air, as leaves floating down the stream or a car driving away into the sunset getting smaller. This mindfulness technique that can give you distance from your worries.
5. Find an alternative thought. Focus on a funny image every time you start worrying. Find a funny image like a Green Horse driving a car. As soon as start to worry or ruminate, think of your green horse drinking in spotted car.
6. Playback. Imagine hearing your worries in an annoying voice of not so favorite character. I would be highly annoyed hearing my stressors called out by Yosemite Sam from Hannah Barbera Cartoons.
7. Look for patterns. For one week, notice and record triggers that make you worry or ruminate (such as talking to anxious person, lying awake in bed, or watching certain TV shows). Now, develop alternative positive things to do and way to avoid those triggers. Avoid the person who response negatively to your problems. If you start to feel negative while lying in bed, get up in 15 minutes and get active versus watching TV.
8. Interrupt the worry cycle. This can be done walking around or mindfully checking in with what is happening in your body. If you notice areas of tension, send some breathe in the area. Then also label that tension such as “fear,” “anger,” “sadness.” This can overcome that avoidance with being “in your head” about the pandemic.
I understand that there are somethings that we don’t have control over at this time. Watching the media, talking to friends, fears about employment or your business, the state of your families health can naturally increase your worry. Understand the anxious thoughts about it may around for weeks or months to come, but by increase our awareness and implement of tools we can improve our mental wellness during this public health crisis.
Be Balanced and Well,
Shayla Peterson