Anxiety During Coronavirus - Part 1: Healthy Concern vs. Fear and Worry

Fear can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Fear can protect us. If we didn’t have fear we might drive 130 miles/hour or jump off a 10 story building. Regarding the virus, we would ignore all the guidelines. We’d seldom wash our hands, we’d ignore social distancing guidelines, go to friends’ homes during stay-at-home orders, and might even sneeze out into the air in public. Fear that protects us is good.

However, excessive fear and anxiety can be very harmful. We can follow the guidelines with little or no anxiety. Or we can worry for hours, lose sleep, search the internet for hours, watch the news for hours, get headaches, stomachaches, become irritable, the list of symptoms go on and on. Worse yet, anxiety can actually reduce immune function thereby putting you at greater risk for getting the virus. And did you know that excessive worry has been proven to actually interfere with problem solving? So, managing your anxiety in a healthy way can actually make you safer. 

I’m an expert in anxiety management.* I am NOT an infectious disease or coronavirus expert. I’m writing a blog to help you manage any excess anxiety you may have about the coronavirus. I have a wealth of suggestions for managing your anxiety in the coming days. While this may sound trite, to begin, don’t worry, problem solve. Following the guidelines will greatly reduce the likelihood of contracting and spreading the virus. Anxiety is not necessary to follow the protective guidelines. However, respect for the gravity of the virus and a healthy concern is certainly warranted. Engage in at least the minimum current suggestions which have changed day-to-day and state by state. Decide if you want to follow the minimal guidelines, completely self-or-family quarantine, or do like me and go somewhere in between. 

Knowledge is power, but only up to a point. Stay abreast of the current guidelines, which may be as quick as visiting your favorite website for 10 minutes OR watching a 30-min news program daily. Try to limit your total time engaged in seeking information about the virus to an hour/day, particularly if it makes you anxious.  Definitely limit your news exposure to no more than 90 minutes, unless you previously watched more.  And spend no more than an average of 30 min/day on the internet. Think of the many things you’d rather do, that are safe to do. Next BLOG will be relaxation and mindfulness strategies to help you feel more calm.

*Dr. Jennifer L. Abel has written three books about anxiety management and two sets of therapy cards that are available for purchase on Amazon. She is an international speaker who has delivered seminars in 45 states.