If you are struggling more than usual with depression and/or anxiety in this crisis, acknowledge to yourself that there is definitely justification for your struggles.
Not only are you working hard and putting energy to maintain your mental health challenges, but now you have to put forth energy in dealing with this crisis of this virus.
Feeling safe is very crucial for us that battle with keeping our thoughts uplifted and our emotions stable. So when something like this crisis comes our way, our sense of safety and stability is threatened for sure.
Do not feel guilty if you need to restructure your day to deal with your new normal and your need to rest more. This is overwhelming for us all, even those that do not battle a mental illness.
As we put out more energy to deal with this crisis, I encourage you to watch how much sobering news you are feeding your mind. Give yourself healthy mental breaks from the onslaught of news and from scrolling social media.
If you feel your anxiety increasing, or your mood affected by being online or in front of a television, tell yourself to pull away and put your thoughts on something else.
I have to remind myself often that my brain responds to my thoughts and my thoughts are formed easily by what I feed my brain. Catch those negative thoughts and refuse them entry into your mind.
Instead choose to be thankful. Sit down and make a long list of things you are grateful for and what good things are happening in this chaos. There are good things happening and we need to be thankful for them.
I struggle with depression and anxiety as well. And I have to choose my thoughts every morning I wake up, throughout the day and even in the evening. It is a lot of work to remain mindful of where our thoughts are going, but we have to in order to keep our emotions from being dragged down into a pit.
I tell myself everyday that this season will end. And before we know it, we will all be back to our normal routines and visiting our friends and family. I tell myself that other countries are recovering and we will as well.
People will come out of this crisis changed. My hope is that the change is for the better. People will be more grateful, they will value their relationships more in this life, and they will not take for granted what we do have. That is a good thing.
Use this time to think about what you have learned thus far. Have you made time to process all of this in a healthy way? Have you seen yourself develop more resilience and even surprised yourself with how strong you have been already?
Life is difficult. And if you struggle with a mental illness as a result of this difficult life, know that you still have a choice in how you respond to what is going on. You can choose to give into your fears, or you can choose to work really hard and trust that you will overcome.
And if you have a bad day, that is totally okay. This is a strange and hard time and it is difficult to know what and who to believe in the news anymore. We have to remember that the media feeds off the fears of their audience, because these fears keeps the audience attached to their screens to learn more. That is normally their motives. They are definitely not finding ways to keep us calm and at peace, because then they will lose views and their audience.
We can outsmart those tactics and choose to manage our screen time, and choose to be in peace within this storm. So enjoy a cup of coffee, have a second cookie, pull out that puzzle you wanted to put together, and look for what is good and right in our world to focus on.
We can play “what if..” all day, but that is not healthy for our minds. Fearing the unknown is fearing what could happen, but it does not mean it will happen. Treat those thoughts as unfriendly and as instigators of your fear.
And when it gets overwhelming, repeat to yourself and your brain that you are safe, because you are. And repeat to yourself that there is always an end to a storm, and this will end.
And if you have faith in the Lord, pray and choose to trust that He is in control and you and your family are in His hands. Nothing in this world separates you from the love of the Lord, and definitely not this virus.
Praying peace over you my friends and fellow overcomers of this crisis.
If you need help and are struggling with suicidal thoughts please seek help. All we need is to get through those dark moments and the sun will shine again. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Stay safe and healthy!
Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255