HOW TO HANDLE COVID-19 INDUCED ANXIETY

As Cindy puts down her phone after looking at the current news about COVID-19, she realizes her pulse has quickened and her hands feel clammy. Her husband says goodbye, and she runs to the window with her kids to wave as his car pulls away from the driveway for his next ICU shift. She is faintly aware that her mouth has gone completely dry, but this sensation pales in comparison to the worried thoughts racing through her mind as his car disappears from view. Anxiety grips her mind and body as she stares at the empty street, worried that the worst may happen…

Because she has learned some cognitive behavioral therapy skills, she knows the powerful impact her thoughts have on her emotions and behaviors. She is able to use her change in mood and body sensations as cues to identify her thoughts. (step 1)

Cindy knows that it’s not only the COVID-19 situation itself that is causing her anxiety, but also what she is currently telling herself about the pandemic.

These two questions can be a filter for all our thoughts as we work to evaluate and assess for more truthful, rational ones.⁣

You CAN handle more than you THINK!

You may not be able to choose your automatic thought but you can choose which thoughts you want to dwell on. ⁣

We have thousands of thoughts each day, ⁣⁣between 45,000 to 50,000 to be ‘roughly’ exact. But did you know that not all of what you think about is necessarily true? ⁣⁣