Anxiety

Pandemic Recovery

by Jason Rinehart

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS THINKING ABOUT HARMING THEMSELVES OR SOMEONE ELSE, PLEASE STOP READING THIS AND CALL 911 AND GET HELP IMMEDIATELY

INTRO

Like most, it was a really tough 2020 and into 2021 on myself and my family. This was made especially difficult because of my anxiety and the other stressors from changing jobs, being at home 24x7 and all the events that have happened in the last 18 months or so. It’s also important to understand my particualar type of anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The things I have done are targted at this specific type of anxiety. Your type will probably be different in terms of coping mechanisms and such so keep that in mind as you read this. It goes without saying, but I’m obviously not a medical professional. None of what you’ll read here is medical advice but rather an exposition on my personal experiences and things that have worked to help me and my family. Before you do anything, talk to your doctor, your therapist (if you don’t have one, get one), your spouse, your family and/or your friends. During the pandemic all of the things below were either a huge struggle or was just forgotten. As you could imagine, times were rough. So, I’m writing this to help me keep these things top of mind and to hopefully give someone out there hope and help in the dark.

HELPFUL SOURCES

There are endless sources out there for help and understanding. These will just get you started.

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS

  1. Diet and Exercise

    • You are what you eat

      This is quite possibly the most important thing you can do for yourself and your psyche. Explore several types of “diets” and see what your body likes and talk to your healthcare professional. My doctor recommended the Mediterranian diet for me but my body really loves a Keto diet. My wife, on the other hand, needs an Auto-Immune diet. Not only does your body get what it needs but the mere knowledge that you’re on a healthy path will improve your mood.

    • Get off your butt and move

      The other part of this is moving. Simple exercise. I’m not the best at this and you’ll find literally thousands of pages of studies on what is really beneficial. But, given all that, getting outdoors and taking a walk, spending time in nature or just spending time out of your house doing ‘something’ is way better than nothing at all. Not only does this help you physically but the quickest way to combat anxiety is to exercise and burn off that excess adrenaline that you’ve built up. Exercise also increases endorphines that make you happy.

  2. Sleep

    Sleep is crucial. This is time that your brain has to cool down and take a break (and do what it wants to do for a change). Lack of sleep has a number of negative side effects, talk to your doctor about it. For me, it causes me to have a weak mind, poor attitude which only serves to feed the anxiety monster.

  3. Human contact

    Plain and simple, we were not created to be alone. We are communal creatures. It’s time to get back out into the world and interact with those you love, your friends, colleagues or just general society (like a local brewery if that’s your thing). Quality social interaction does wonders for your wellbeing. (Again, this is all depending on your type of anxiety)

  4. Music and Mindfulness

    Okay, so music is a big deal for me but it may not be for you. Music allows me to focus, to settle down and to drown out the stressors around me. This is especially true in a busy household with lots of kids and activities. And now that it’s summertime and the kids are out of school, it’s even more crowded around my house. See point #3. I’m on a Mac mostly and I run Parallels, there is a really cool feature in the Parallels Toolbox that schedules breaks for you. These breaks allow me mental breaks that I use to de-stress and to center myself by either focusing on music or some sort of distraction from work and my surroundings. I would encourage consistent breaks to get up, move around or just turning off everything around you to sink to your quiet place and be still. I do this through music. Find what works for you and do it.

  5. Understand your anxiety

    The first thing I did was seek professional help. First from my primary care physician and then from a licensed therapist and psychologist. Understanding what is happening to you phsycially as a direct result of your emotional wellbeing was key for me to get a handle on my day-to-day. Once I was able to understand this through first talking to my doctor and then subsequently my therapist I have learned to logically talk myself down in almost all situations. The really crappy part about the type of anxiety I have is that it’s a completely natural reaction. My primitive brain really believes that it’s under imminent danger and immediate kicks into action. And my more logical and modern brain then must combat that to break the anxiety circle

WRAPPING UP

If you’re new to your anxiety or you’ve not yet realized that you have anxiety, my hope is that this has helped you atleast know where to find the help you need. Over the years, I’ve learned to use my anxiety to get closer to my wife and kids, dive deeper into my work and become a more extroverted community seeking person. Little does my anxiety know but it has helped make me the man, husband, father, friend and cowoker that I am today. It was really rough in the beginning but with the help of your community, a good quality doctor and a good therapist you’ll learn to develop the tools necessary to make it through any challenging life event. Even if it’s a pandemic :)

Also, seek out your employer resources. If your employer doesn’t provide you with mindfulness resources or ways to get help with any personal situation, perhaps it’s time for you to find a place that more aligns with your personal (and professional) needs Avande is hiring!

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash