Antidote to Anxiety: Be Present
As the threat of COVID-19 pervades every day life, anxiety is running rampant, but we CAN beat anxiety if we can just:
Be Present
Anxiety is fear about the unknown, usually related to the future. When we’re caught in anxiety’s web, we’re imagining the worst, catastrophizing everything, and working ourselves into a state of panic.
The best way to counteract future fears is to focus the mind on what is happening RIGHT NOW.
Shift from Mind to Body
Focus on the physical – focus your mind on your body’s location in space. In other words, “bring your mind to where your feet are.”
How does it feel to sit, stand, lie down. Focus on physical sensations – how your clothes feel on your skin, how your muscles feel, how awake or tired you are. Focusing on the body is a way to get centered in the present moment.
Bring your thoughts to the present moment. And then when they fly off into another worry or future fear, bring your thoughts to the present moment.
Remind yourself, “For this moment, I am ok.”
Take it Moment to Moment
To move forward from there, focus on “first things first.” This means keep your focus on what comes next in a measured, reason way. Another way to say this is “do the next right thing,” a phrase made most recently famous in the movie Frozen II.
Don’t jump ahead, don’t try to solve the entire problem in a day, don’t take the world on your shoulders. Just turn on the computer to start your work day. Make the shopping list for food. Call to make or cancel a medical appointment. Do the most important thing next. Then the next most important thing. And so on.
And it doesn’t have to be “productive.” It might be a self-care task. Make a cup of tea. Draw that bath. Take a walk in the neighborhood. Don’t get ahead of yourself, just take it in bite-sized pieces.
Then give yourself credit for taking that small step. Every step we take toward a goal is worth celebrating. In this way we honor and live in the moment rather than jump ahead and miss what’s happening right now.
