It sounds logical to say that the longer the Coronavirus stays a pandemic, the more people will be hurt. But it’s how they are hurt that may surprise you.
Many of us ran to the stores and purchased extra grocery supplies once we heard someone say that we may be quarantined for many weeks due to the COVID-19 virus that has already touched 750,000 lives worldwide and more than 3,300 cases in Texas as of Friday. Now the isolation, lack of routine and boredom are having an effect.
First be aware that it’s normal to feel different in this time as people are ordered to stay home in the hopes that isolation and social distancing will diminish the growth of this virus. The anxiety, stress and fear are normal responses.
It’s part of our fight-or-flight response system that humans have had for thousands of years. The trouble here is the stress is constant, and the gloomy news reports are enhancing the stress we feel. In prehistoric days, our fight-or-flight mentality was caused by hungry dinosaurs chasing us — and we were a dinosaur snack at the time. Cave people always hoarded food, ran to shelter and then relaxed if they found safety. Home should be a place of peace and relaxation now, but for many it doesn’t feel that way because of how we are interpreting this isolation.
First panic is not required when water, toilet paper, disinfectant wipes, etc. are not in stock for a few days. However, one of the most powerful Rules of the Mind states that “In a battle between emotion and logic, emotion always wins,” according to Rapid Transformational Therapy Founder Marisa Peer. That means our intelligence, our strategy and logic don’t mean much if we allow ourselves to be swept into the panic that has already caused an over-abundance of grocery shopping and a large drop in the stock market. Those are fear-based actions at their root.
That panic causes growing anxiety/stress, and unlike the dinosaur analogy, this scenario may continue indefinitely. It’s the extended anxiety that’s added to our culture’s already-large plate of worry, doubt, fear and stress that can overwhelm us and cause panic attacks.
I am a certified Rapid Transformation Coach and hypnotherapist at WorldWellnessToday.com, and I help people alleviate this type of issue in a unique, efficient manner. On the mindset side, the first key step is to recognize that anxiety and fear only exist — and only affect our lives — because we are believing everything around us that suggests virtually everything is bad news currently.
It is a happening being reported on, but every believe we have starts with a thought in our mind. Today I spoke on Facebook Live for 45 minutes about proactively caring for our families, friends and strangers to distance, prevent virus spread and more. And I focused the talk on seeing opportunity in this cloud of fear that COVID-19 has delivered to us.
The Atlantic Daily published a comprehensive article on March 25 by Ed Yong that mentions “Pandemics can also catalyze social change… including working from home…” and more. While so many companies and people are at home, I recommend we use a power, but often overlooked tool, critical thinking, to consider our future options in business where working from home is the standard for full-benefit employees.
Critical thinking allows us to solve problems and removes us from feeling limited in our thinking during this time. Only a few weeks ago, washing our hands for 20 seconds was nearly unheard of, except by medical professionals. Now it is nearly standard policy.
A second step I recommend for all families, including children, is using YouTube.com or media to learn basic relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga and especially mindfulness. Mindfulness is a conscious decision to focus on the moment you are living now, not the past and not the future. With this choice, stress and judgement fall away, leaving each of us to focus on slow, deep breathing.
This exercise is easily learned by young and old alike and can be a game with finer points like focusing on your sense of sound when a new, slow song is played. Whole families are using this relaxation technique to minimize anxiety and fear related to this pandemic.
• Every challenge has two components: Physical and mental. I have addressed a few mindset solutions. Physically exercise often, eat healthy meals and supplement each day while drinking mostly water to stay hydrated.
• For those looking for exercise, I recommend walking or running each day. Gloves have been overlooked recently and provide perhaps the greatest level of protection as we leave our homes.
• If you are home with children, take them outside to a park and let them play if they are healthy. The weather has been beautiful the last few weeks. Exercise is good for everyone, and the sunshine lowers stress levels and helps with Vitamin D in the body thanks to the Sun.
• For students, try to contact their teachers/schools for suggested reading, assignments. With most schools nearing the big decision to cancel school for the spring or resume classes, parents need to keep their children in learning mode 4-5 days weekly so they remember the information covered in class. They can also learn what’s left to absorb and move ahead swiftly.
• Ask your children to help plan the next few days on the schedule. That encourages them by helping children learn age-appropriate, critical thinking skills. By giving them input, you show that you are valuing their opinions on important topics.
• Set up relaxing, appropriate, offline activities. Book reading and reports on read material are helpful for everyone in the home. Keep those young minds — and wiser minds alike — busy on current activities. Collecting or identifying coins, finding cars on a drive, playing family card games or board games, dance contests and much more are good options.
Finally, remember that your thoughts form a blueprint that your mind and body work to create your reality. The internet is not always the best option for students, especially behind a closed bedroom door. Cyber bullying is one of many rising issues that alert parents have to guard against on computers, tablets and smartphones today.
Terry Carter is a Rapid Transformational Therapist and Hypnotherapist in Katy, Texas. He can be reached at WorldWellnessToday.com, by email at UDTherapy@gmail.com, by phone at 281.541.4983. He also hosts free Facebook Live events several times weekly on mindset, wellness and winning in life. Carter co-hosts an online meetup.com event called Katy Healthy Living Mastermind, which meets on zoom.us/j/2030492222 every other Monday at 6 p.m. The last meeting was March 30.
