How to cope with anxiety when the world is spinning
How to Cope with Anxiety When the World is Spinning
When I started to think about what to write in this blog, nothing seemed as urgent as the anxiety I have felt and spoken about with clients over the last couple of weeks. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dominated our news and has found its way into our psyche and our nervous system.
While it makes perfect sense to feel anxious during a global crisis, it’s also true that the anxiety we feel, sitting safe and comfortable in our warm homes can be confusing. We have the privilege to feel anxious whereas the people in Ukraine don’t have this luxury.
Professor Brewer from Brown University School of Public Health says “If you’re in a war zone, it’s going to make it harder to survive”. He notes that people living in war-torn nations experience mental health issues and feelings of insecurity but they cannot afford to think about anxiety because it gets in the way of their survival.
Because of this, feelings from complete disbelief to rage can sometimes leave us feeling helpless to know what to do to make a difference. We either go into fight or flight or become paralysed. Helplessness is defined as an “inability to defend oneself or to act effectively.”
Therefore, the only thing we can do is to go back to our own foundation and ground ourselves. My friend gave me excellent advice after 9/11. She said, “Go home and make soup”. It was helpful because it reminded me to slow down, ground and reconnect. I think about this often when the world starts to spin.
Nobody should feel ashamed for feeling anxious because of a global crisis, even when the crisis doesn’t affect them directly. We are naturally impacted and touched by others suffering, the two are not mutually exclusive. We need to allow ourselves to register these feelings and allow ourselves to feel them rather than suppress them.
How to help ourselves and others during a Crisis:
1.Remind yourself that uncertainty isn’t new. We live with uncertainty every day. Our challenge is to accept that feeling anxious makes perfect sense at this time. Naming your feelings and not judging them is key to these feelings moving on.
2.Move into action. One way of lowering anxiety is to help others but this doesn’t mean having to volunteer to fight. We can make a difference in small ways, donating, giving blood or taking in refugees. We can’t control what’s happening in the bigger world but we can be there in any way we can.
3.Keep connected to family and friends. Cook together play together and do what brings meaning and joy into your life.
4. Limit your social media and news feed when you notice you’re feeling overwhelmed. We need to know where our tipping point is so as not to feel panicked.
Although the past few weeks have been challenging for many people, I’ve noticed my work with clients has brought a richness and depth that only these situations can bring. It has become an opportunity to talk about past traumas clients have experienced and feelings of gratitude many feel living in a safe country. Crisis has a way of teaching us what is important, what we need to pay attention to and how to live more in the present.