How to Ease Anxiety About Your Health During the Pandemic

The pandemic has the world turned upside down and there doesn't appear to be a clear end in sight. But whether it's the possible outcome of catching COVID-19 or how to navigate health challenges when the system is so overwhelmed, the one thing that many many of us have in common right now is concern about our health. These concerns can cause rising stress levels and further isolate us in a time of great stress for the entire world. Really, we can end up feeling alone.

Altruistically we may think, "we should worry about all of those who have died; I'll be okay" or "how can I complain when everything is so bad for so many?" And as our anxiety rises, and our isolation increases, our health actually worsens. So let's look at how e can navigate this complicated time and manage our health despite these challenges. 

Underlying Anxiety May Affect Overall Health

Stressing about contracting the virus is a normal, human reaction. This is a serious thing. nd for some of us, catching the virus could be devastating to our health or even cost us our lives. And each of us has to think about our risks and the risks to those around us all the time. There's no way around that. But for those of us who already suffer from anxiety or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), the pandemic has made anxiety levels climb. 

And when anxiety rises, it's time to get help. Now might be a good time to make a telehealth visit with a healthcare professional to get help in assessing your risk. Medication levels may need to be evaluated to be sure they're not contributing to the anxiety and this is a good time to check-in. Blood work and vitals may require a trip to the doctor's office or a lab, but starting with a telehealth appointment to assess immediate risk can be very comforting and might ensure your stress levels aren't affecting underlying illnesses or contributing to new ones. 

Be Proactive About Virus Protection

One of the best ways to ease anxiety about getting sick with the virus is to be proactive regarding prevention. Be sure to always choose the best preventative measures: 

• Mask up and use hand sanitizer regularly. 
• Wash hands frequently and do not touch your face.
• Practice safe distancing while around others. Stay 6' away from others.
• Avoid group gatherings to stay out of restaurants and hotels. 

Taking the right steps to stay healthy and being proactive is the best way to thwart the virus and this in turn helps us to mitigate our anxiety. But there's more to health during a pandemic than avoiding anxiety, right?

Stay Active Despite the Pandemic

Getting some exercise each day not only improves cardiovascular health, it boosts immunity, too. While our bodies burn calories, our hearts, lungs and muscle groups improve in function and raise our overall health levels. Improving physical condition and immunity gives us the best chance of fighting off the virus and staving off long term illness. Fresh air helps oxygenate the lungs and improves lung function. Maybe most importantly, regular exercise helps keep stress levels under control and in turn, we feel better overall. So we put "get active and stay active" at the very top of our pandemic to-do list. 

Practice Daily Self-Care Routines

Taking care of ourselves should be a daily priority—but it may not look like what we think. First: Schedule it. Scheduling time to put ourselves first is critical. Take time to unwind. Some people prefer to pamper themselves by taking a hot bath while others walk, meditate or read a book. Crafting, on-line shopping, or even a private spa session might be ways people destress and distract themselves.

But we at Wellness think that best self-care is managing that to-do list and staving off overwhelm. Take some time to pay the bills. Clean up the living room. Wash the sheets. These are things that are the very definition of taking care of the self but which too often get shut out in favor of bubble baths. The truth is that cleaning up the living room will make us feel better for days while the bath may only make us relax for an hour. So we like to say "remember that self-care is about life management, not pampering."

Eat Well and Keep it Whole

It's been easy to fall into a diet of chips and soda during this pandemic for many of us. They're comforting and have a way of hitting those snacking notes that make us feel good temporarily. But nothing really does more for our health than the food we choose to eat. So right up there with getting in some movement we have to recommend that our readers choose to eat all of the fruits and vegetables they can lay their hands on. Every day. Just get in the good stuff. Make it a priority and do your best to make nourishing choices and remember you're in a pandemic—it's okay to make some unhealthy choices too, just, try to crowd them out with the good stuff if you can. 

Even though we don’t have all the answers about the pandemic yet and the world might feel scary, we have control over choices that can help us mitigate our stress. We don't have to let it overtake our lives to the point of sickness and despair. If you need help, reach out now to the SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). We may be socially distanced, but we’re all in this together.

Copyright 2020, Wellness.com