How do you survive the constant feeling of anxiety? Especially when it seems there’s always something making it worse!
We’re living through tough times – and it may be that you’re coping with experiences that make you feel unsafe again and again. Even if its five minutes, be sure to build in some quiet time every day. When bad news seems like the new normal, keeping the news on and watching your phone like a hawk is a protective response. This is a human reaction of vigilance through getting information, an effort to stay safe and survive.
But the onslaught of sounds and sights can be overstimulating, not to mention depressing. The nervous system is likely to get too activated, making you feel stressed and tired.
Take a few minutes, whether it’s before bed or before work in the morning, to just sit and breathe. It doesn’t have to be a complicated meditation, but breathing in more fully, holding the breath gently, and releasing it more consciously, is a fast-acting way to help the mind-body system feel better. You could also offer yourself some feeling of care and compassion, imagining the part of yourself that’s suffering receiving this care from the part that can offer it with ease and generosity.
It won’t solve the world’s problems, but it will encourage your body and mind to feel readier to ride the waves of another news cycle.
