While the number of positive cases have been increasing in a certain locality, the level of intensity from people concerned with COVID-19 virus have also heightened their fears causing panic to some.
Professor Alane Daugherty, PhD said when stress, anxiety, worry, overwhelm, depression and isolation are left unchecked, they actually reduce the effectiveness of your immune system and make you – and those around you – much more susceptible to getting sick.
“In this case, your immune system is challenged and you are likely to contract and spread a circulating virus and expose those around you, your communities, and our global population,” she explained.
The professor enumerated three basic practices that will help you calm your intense emotions when they arise, reducing your cortisol – which is your primary stress hormone – influx and calming your system overall:
* The Power of Pause. This invites you to respond differently right in the moment of reactivity. When you recognize a destabilizing emotion is taking over your system – as in fear or worry – you disengage from this hijack, pause and observe your reaction from a third person or witnessing point of view, without suppressing judgment or engagement. Take a few intentional and slow breaths to calm your body, and from a grounded space of balance, you will be more able to discern an appropriate response.
* In Present Moment Awareness. You ground your attention in the present moment and your external surroundings. Doing so takes your mind off your escalating thoughts and begins to calm your whole mind and body complex. Notice and disengage from the reactivity of your trigger, relax the muscles around your eyes and shoulders, which are directly connected to your emotional response system and take a few breaths.
* Heart in the Moment. HEART (Heartful Emotion Affect Regulation Training) invites you to intentionally engage in an emotional state that is healing and stabilizing. By intentionally engaging in a heart-felt emotion you flip your dominating emotional state from chaos to calm, thus integrating your whole mind/body complex in a grounded and peaceful state.
Ana Williams is the health columnist for The Graham Star.