Whether it’s dealing with social isolation, trying to work at home with ITC that fails at a critical point or the chaos of a house full of kids needing attention, all of us are going to experience stress and frustration at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are a number of things you can do to help deal with the stress and frustration of social isolation and working from home. I have given a number of tips in my previous article, “Covid-19: Working From Home Tips,” and will continue to offer more in coming articles.
The most critical factor to handling your stress and frustration during Covid-19, is your ability to deal with your own negativity about the situation.
If you’re feeling overly stressed, frustrated or worried and can’t turn off that constant chatter in your head you have found the key. That key is your choice point. Your choice is - Do I continue feeding these never ending thoughts and feelings of fear, hate, sadness, frustration, despair, anger, jealousy or resentment that gnaw away at my very being and make me feel bad Or do I make the choice to actively change my pattern and let them go?
Constantly thinking and talking about what’s going wrong in your life or tuning into every media story and Covid-19 update can wear you down and drain your energy. If not managed, this will often lead to feelings of fear, victimhood, helplessness and depression or outbursts of anger, frustration and rage. Yes, you need to stay connected and acknowledge what is going on, but while doing that, you don’t need to allow yourself to immerse in negativity. You need to get off the merry go round of woe is the world and woe is me. You need to give yourself a break from yourself and your negative thoughts.
When you choose to hit the pause button and take a break from yourself and the negativity that may be consuming you, you create distance between yourself and the triggers stressing you. Only then will you be able to come back with the clarity required to powerfully tackle solving the problem bothering you from the level of logic and reason.
When taking time out from yourself, the key is to choose to no longer engage with your negative thoughts and to do something that takes you away from your worries. I find that activities such as cleaning, gardening, doing a puzzle, reading a book or making a healthy meal can be really good circuit breakers.
Whenever you take a time out from yourself, it is important to do it consciously. You are hitting the pause button and taking time out with the sole purpose of coming back refreshed and ready to find a solution for whatever problem or situation is bothering you. If you are struggling, it might be helpful to enlist the services of a professional coach, counsellor or doctor to guide you and challenge your thinking. Getting another perspective can help you reframe or accept what’s going on and get you on track to creating a positive action plan.
So what is it? Do you want to continue to blame the world for the situation you find yourself in, so that you can revel in the juice you get from feeling victimised? Or, do you want to take the action required to change your perception and ability to handle the situation?
Own your power. You can come out the other side of this as a greater person.
Take positive action!
The choice is yours and you are free to make it!
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