Dealing with Coronavirus worries and uncertainty - two years on
Almost two years ago, I wrote a blog with this same focus and I never thought at that time I would be writing another blog on the same lines again. This pandemic has twisted and turned like a large mythical creature, at times scaring the whole world and sadly taking some victims. The latest version, Omicron, even sounds like something from a mythical world. It seems we will all have to find our own ways of dealing with this monster for the foreseeable future, especially when winter pushes us indoors and the flu season is upon us.
It is the long-term uncertainty of the Covid twists and turns that our minds have some trouble dealing with. We like certainty because that makes us feel safe, we can predict and know what happens next and can prepare well, increasing confidence. Uncertainty causes a deluge of ‘what if’ thinking, trying to second guess what might happen and what we could do if those worst-case scenarios played out, decreasing confidence and increasing worry and fear.
These imagined scenarios have the same impact on our psychological and emotional state as if we were actually in those scenarios, causing the release of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. This leads to feelings of anxiety to varying degrees depending on a person’s genetics, life experiences and coping strategies. Sometimes the anxiety is like an underlying buzz keeping you ready for action and making you sensibly cautious, and sometimes it can reach levels that cause uncomfortable and distressing feelings, even leading to panic attacks for some.
Feelings dictate what we do in response to Covid, affecting our behaviour and we can see this unfolding in everyone’s different choices about socialising pre-Christmas. It is really important that we all respect each other’s views, recognising we are different in how much uncertainty we can tolerate. Someone who is vulnerable to disease or has lost close relatives will understandably feel more anxious. Some people cope by distracting or ignoring feelings and others become overwhelmed. It is important we try to see all views as valid for each person and that it is normal to feel anxiety in the presence of a new unknown threat.
Worrying is often a strategy we use naturally to relieve feelings of uncertainty and anxiety because it seems to help us prepare for the worst, increasing feelings of control. Unfortunately, this is only a false perception and the worry in reality fuels the anxiety. Following the advice and protocols will return some control, but worrying endlessly will not.
Three ways to reduce worry and uncertainty:
Learn to spot the difference between real worries and hypothetical worries
A real-time worry is a worry that you can actually solve and do something about and therefore have some control over: “What if my phone runs out of battery?” can be solved by getting a portable charger. A hypothetical worry is a thought about a situation that you have no control over: “When am I going to get Covid? “what if I am one of the ones who gets really ill with it?” But, when we have no control over the problem, worry no longer serves us and finding a way to let the worry pass, changing the focus of your attention on purpose is the kindest thing to do for yourself. The worry tree is a great guide for this.
To challenge uncertainty, ask yourself the following questions:
Is it possible to be certain about everything in life?
Is predicting bad things helping or hurting you?
How likely is it that your predictions will happen and what is the likelihood of neutral or positive outcomes?
Instead of “what if I can’t manage?” ask yourself “what if I can manage?”
Let go of the future and live in the present
Worry is a form of living in the future, which as well as creating anxiety often means that we miss out on precious present moments: a close interaction with a child, witnessing a beautiful sunset or tasting fabulous food. We shut off and become so narrowly focused we miss any present delight. Learning Mindfulness skills can teach us how to stay more present-focused. This helps us become more tolerant of uncomfortable feelings and accept them as part of life, and to notice what is happening in the moment by paying attention to it on purpose, rather than to a future moment in time, that may never happen anyway. This moment, right now, is the moment in which your life is happening. The next hour, day or week is yet to come, and there is no crystal ball, so focus on the moment of Now.