Everybody experiences fear and anxiety of some level at the moment. This is absolutely natural because most of us are in a situation we have never been in before. The world shut down within a couple of month and we are urged to stay at home. The media is full of fear based stuff, like death counts and Covid’s spreading rates. Conspiracy theories are stirring up even more fear.
Why do some people handle the pandemic with more ease than others?
Anxiety happens in the mind. It happens when stories that that you are telling yourself bring you to a stuck place, where you feel out of control. Experiences from your past are playing like movies over and over in your mind and bring on bad thoughts. Bad thoughts transform into bad feelings.
At that moment you don’t see that you have choices of what to do with these thoughts and feelings. It’s like a downward spiral you are unconsciously setting yourself up for.
A big topic that comes up (for me too) is how to handle uncertainty. We have no idea how long we have to work from home and our kids can’t go to school, how long we’ll be urged to wear masks outside, how long we have to fear for our lives… and if there will be another even worse phase coming in the fall. What will happen to our economy? Will we be able to make enough money to pay our mortgage and will we be able to buy food? All these questions and many more can’t be answered at this time.
What does uncertainty do to us?
Especially the type A people who usually have everything under control are suffering. There is not much we can control on the outside. Life like it was before doesn’t exist. All of a sudden you find yourself at home with your kids and your usual work load. We can’t just go on like normal. A totally new situation needs a new way of handling it.
There is a lot of change that we are going through and oh boy, is change a hard thing for people in general, but even harder when there is no one right way to do things…but a whole rainbow of choices and ways that need to be experimented with. Trial and error requires a flexible and open mind… which is hard to achieve when you already feel like life is overwhelming you and you feel stuck and out of control.
The only cure against anxiety about uncertainty is TRUST.
What’s a quick fix?
Especially when you have a panic attack, come back into the moment and into your body! For the quick relief put one hand on your heart and one on your belly and put both feet on the ground. Breathe deeply into the spots your hand are sitting on.
If you need more, go through all your senses. Smell the air, the taste of the air or what’s still in your mouth, feel the ground under your feet. Look around and notice everything around you. Feel into your body and how every part feels at this moment, just stay away from your mind and its stories.
As I said above, there is little we can control on the outside at the moment, but there is a whole lot we can control and find out and experience on the inside.
I truly believe that most answers to our questions are within us. We just forgot how to listen. It’s our higher self, spirit, inner voice, intuition…you name it whatever you believe in, that is there for us. It is ready to guide us.
We only need to surrender. Let go of needing to control everything and everyone around us. It’s time to build up the trust that we are guided and co-creating our lives. We are not alone. We will understand that very challenge we are facing brings us some kind of gift.
How do you build trust when everything seems to fall apart?
Firstly, we need to trust ourselves again. Do you trust yourself? I think most people, when they are honest would say no to this questions. We choose to disconnect from our bodies and take them for granted all the time. We ignore their screams for attention. So, let’s connect to our bodies to build trust.
- Do a body scan every morning before getting out of bed.
Close your eyes, breathe a couple of breath to come into your body, away from the long to-do list that is already swirling around your mind. Notice how you don’t need to consciously do anything. Your body is being breathed so to say. You can trust that your body does it for you. Stay a bit in this trusting energy.
Then start by your feet, breathe into them and ask them how they are doing and if they need anything from you. Continue and do this with every part of your body. The answers could range from “I’d like a thank you because I have been carrying your for 40 years without any problem” to “today I really would like you to focus on yourself and go for a run by the water” to “I am relaxed and well.”
If you can’t hear anything, try to ask again and focus even deeper… then go on to the next part and so on. Don’t forget to thank every part for the openness and insights and for being there for you.
Your body is the one thing/person who is always there for you, all your life. Treat her with respect and honour every part.
At first it might be very difficult for you to surrender and totally leave your mind out of the game. It might do everything to not lose control. Just tell it, that you really don’t care what it has to say right now. it is only a spectator at the moment and go on connecting to your body.
It will get easier! It’s a process to connect and also trust that you will be lead. You have everything you need already within you!
When you get good at doing this scan every morning, please find times during the day (e.g. every time you go to the bathroom or you fill up your coffee cup) to check in with yourself. You might not need to go through every part of your body, but you can feel where in your body you feel tight or even sore… These parts will have something to say…
The more often you do this and then also act on what your body is telling you, the better connected you will feel and trust will build between you and your truth. You will feel more balanced and less in need of controlling.
If this all seems totally weird to you, still give it a try!
I’d be very interested to hear what you experience after doing the body scan for a couple of weeks.
If you want to go deeper and find out what stories you are telling yourself and where they are actually rooted, give me a shout and we’ll talk about it. We’ll figure it out!
I am here for you!
Much love and light!
Annika <3