Managing Anxiety and Stress

Feeling a little more anxious than usual? Yea, us too. Navigating through a global pandemic is probably not something any of us had planned for, but here we are—trying to do the best we can in an unprecedented situation. The lack of control over a new an unfamiliar threat has been shown to lead to heightened feelings of fear and stress, and well, the Coronavirus outbreak is about as new, unfamiliar and out of our control as something could possibly be. 

When we experience stress and anxiety, we may have a few go-tos that we think make us feel a bit better, but in actual fact make it harder to deal (Think: scrolling through Facebook, or reading the (endless) news updates that pop up on your screen). But the sooner we find helpful and healthy ways to deal with our feelings, the easier it is to protect ourselves against the negative physical and psychological effects of stress.  

If you’re one of the many people looking to ease your sense of worry and anxiety and adjust to the situation, here are a few suggestions: 

1.) Create a worry window

Designate a time for your worrying. This may sound strange, but if you set aside a few minutes each day or week (whatever you need) to worrying about the situation, it can make it easier to contain. If something pops into your head that’s causing you stress, write it down and save it for your worry session. No expectations, no judgements.  

2.) Create a deep breathing response

Stressful notifications and messages are pretty much unavoidable at the moment. When you encounter something that sparks anxiety, pause and focus on your breath for 10 seconds.  

When we engage in intentional breathing, our parasympathetic nervous system kicks in to lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and inflammation.  

3.) Create a gratitude list.

Expressing gratitude can alleviate feelings of anxiety, why not spend the 20 seconds you’re washing your hands coming up with a few things you are grateful for? 

4.) Get some fresh air—and schedule it.

Vitamin D is critical for our immune systems and exercising outdoors has been linked to lowering anxiety. Scheduling the time will help you make it a priority. 

5.) Limit your screen time.

Set a time limit on your phone, tv and computer and a cut off point for the news. Also— easier said than done, but no electronics in the bedroom. Give yourself a break to sleep, recharge and connect with yourself.  

To read more on how we cope with stress, check out or blog.

You got this.