All of us have experienced what it means to be anxious, to some extent that it becomes unreasonable.
But therapist John L. Shirey – LCSW, LCAS, CSI at the Tallulah Community Health Center, one clinic that falls under the umbrella of the Appalachian Community Health Centers – said a good way to think of anxiety is to put it into perspective.
“The primary driver in anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic is that your brain is responding to the unknown,” Shirey said.
He explained that the reason we are anxious after dark is because we cannot see. We wonder what dangers are hiding from our sight.
“Give us a flashlight, and we can reduce our anxiety. We attempt to manage our anxiety over COVID-19 by watching the news, to gather information on this new virus. Thus, we can effectively shed light on this current situation that we’ve been facing and experiencing.”
He added that the problem is with our thirst for facts that we can become obsessed with the news long after we have received all the new information about that virus.
“Yes, to a reasonable extent,” Shirey said. “Look at your risk factors: your increasing age over 65 years old, your pre-existing conditions, you’re a smoker, you’re living with someone who has substantial risk factors, among others.”
Shirey said the more risk factors, the more cautious one should be. And in order to be cautious, he strongly recommends to follow the government’s guidelines, such as practice social distancing, don’t risk unnecessary exposure by making trips outside the home, wash hands frequently, and when washing hands becomes a failure, don’t touch the face.
Outside the government recommendations, he said practice good self-care. Do things that you enjoy, that is still fitting within the guidelines. Daily walks, spring cleaning, gardening, working on a puzzle, extra time with the kids and your spouse, fishing, hiking, or playing 20 questions with your spouse.
Anxiety becomes a problem when it begins to affect the overall quality of your life. We all have anxiety, and certain circumstances increase that anxiety, sometimes for weeks.
However, he said if over a period of two weeks you noticed the following such as feeling nervous, anxious or on edge; not being able to stop or control worrying; worrying too much about different things; trouble relaxing; being so restless that it’s hard to sit still; becoming easily annoyed or irritable; feeling afraid as if something awful might happen. If these things become persistent for more than half the days in a two week period, it may be time to seek some help.
Philosophically, Shirey believes that this too shall pass. All conditions are temporary, life itself is changing.
He recommends to the public to limit news to no more than 30 minutes per day. Read your news, and if possible, favor local news over national and international news.
Distract yourself with meaningful activities, get some fresh air, exercise daily even if it is a five minute walk to the mailbox, call the people you love and tell them how much you love them. Also, attend the spiritual service of your choice like drive-in service for social distancing, he said.
Ana Williams is the health columnist for The Graham Star.