As COVID-19 has taken over major cities, small suburbs across the country, and bordering countries, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to remain calm and not panic. I have to say that reading all the news and research around Covid-19, to put together How To Protect Yourself From The Corona Virus (COVID-19), kind of brought my anxiety levels up. Somehow it seems that journalists cannot find anything positive to talk about in these times or corona virus. I partially get it. We should keep up to date, and of course be careful. Yet, being overly pessimistic is not going to help us… It would even bring our immune system down, so we need to do something against that! We need to move from being victims to being empowered.

In Switzerland, as of January 2021, we have been told by authorities to keep following the WHO rules to avoid spreading the virus. Some businesses have been closed. Some not. We can technically still go out. Yet, numbers are going up. Since my children want to spend some time with their grandparents – and vice-versa – we have decided to keep self-isolating.

My parents in France have now a curfew when they have to be at home before 6pm.

My friends in the UK are quarantined in their homes.

My friends in Italy do the same.

While dealing with the many rules our different governments have issued, we might be feeling angst, while waiting for the vaccine to be available to a wider population. I don’t want to get into whether we should vaccinate or not. That’s a personal decision to make. In any case, while being in quarantine or self-isolating, we are surely this year again spending more time inside than outside. Does it mean solely focusing our attention on what is happening with the world outside? I don’t believe it does. Some of us are working anyway. Some of us are taking care of our family and kids. Some of us are doing both.

My first recommendation, to help you reduce your anxiety levels would be to try to limit how much news you watch, especially some of the overhyped reporting that only propagates fear and anxiety (and there are really many at the moment!). First and foremost, get updates and facts from reliable sources, and then focus your attention elsewhere. For example, on what you can do to protect yourself, help your community, and still focus on something you enjoy!

You can avoid contact with other people and wash your hands more carefully, but your ability to remain calm comes from within. That means you’ll have to take the necessary steps in reducing your stress and anxiety and promoting calmness while the virus runs its course.

We’re going to go over three of the best ways that you can stay calm and centred in times of COVID-19 panic!

Meditation & Mindfulness

So, you’re anxious and stressed as a result of the rapid spread of Coronavirus. I get it! If you’ve never attempted meditation or any mindfulness techniques in the past, this is the perfect time to try them out and get some practice under your belt.

According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can play a huge role in helping you to maintain your mental and emotional health, even benefiting aspects of your physical health. Here’s what meditation can do for you.

• Greater outlook on life (positivity)
• Increased feelings of calmness
• Greater self-awareness
• Reduced levels of anxiety and stress.
• Improved focus

The best part is: There are plenty of different types of meditation.

If you’re able to focus for long periods of time, you might want to try out guided meditations, visualisation techniques or autohypnosis. When you’re looking to stay more active while you’re quarantined, you can give yoga or Pilates a go!

Finding a Creative Outlet

You might be stuck in the house for the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean you have to resort to going stir crazy. In fact, that’ll probably only increase your feelings of panic during such trying times!

This is a great time to try out some new (or old) creative hobbies. When you’re focused on building or creating something new, you’re reducing the amount of focus on the negativity surrounding you. That means creativity is a solid way of helping you to relax.

A creative outlet can be almost anything. Here are a few things you might want to try out (if you have the supplies in your home).

• Painting, colouring, or drawing (I’m personally enjoying drawing animals from https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/ with my kids)
• Singing or playing musical instruments (I’m personally enjoying revisiting French kids songs and adapting them to fit what my kids know and like)
• Taking photos or videos of things you enjoy
• Building something with things lying around the house
• Moving furniture around (yes, I consider that a creative outlet, which has the benefit of making you feel like you have stepped into a “new” house. My husband and I have done a lot of that in the past year 🤣)
• Baking 🍰 (this is another one of our hobbies right now)
• Writing ✍🏻 (as you can read now, that’s one of my hobbies too)
• Puzzles
• Reading something and then writing an essay about it. This is a great way to take your mind off the world’s troubles.
• Seeing how you can contribute to, and help, people around you.

Basically, the goal here is to find an activity or task that requires an intense amount of focus and makes you happy. You won’t even notice that you spent the last hour drawing your favourite cartoon character.

Giving Back & Helping Others

It’s completely natural to be fearful of the unknown but giving back to others can help you to tackle this fear once and for all. When you’re giving back to the community or helping those in need, you’ll be working to spread compassion and happiness rather than fear and anxiety.

With so many people sick or self-quarantined, most people aren’t permitted to leave the home. However, these individuals do still have needs that they now can’t meet on their own.

As long as you’re keeping your distance and not exposing anyone to the virus, you can deliver food and groceries or do things like their yard work. It’ll make you feel good about yourself while also helping those who need it! So, call your neighbours, post something on your Facebook feed to let those in need know you are available and how to get in contact.

Some Applications I Am Using To Help

🛠️ Workflowy

I use Workflowy to keep my to do list organised and show me how productive I’ve been on specific days. It is what I like to call my “second brain”. I’ve got too many ideas and things I want to do, and Workflowy allows me to organise it in a simple way, with easy search functions too.

What do I put on there? Languages I want to learn/improve, work related to LotusPowerHealth & Health Coaching (incl. courses and certifications), work related to AudreySArnold & Biz Coaching (incl. courses and certifications), strategies I want to implement for both businesses, and personal stuff too (health, holidays and fun, family stuff, etc.). The sky’s the limit! 🤩

It is completely free to use and you can earn more space by sharing your referral link when you like the app. Check out the app and how it works:

• List maker
• Notepad

—> To get extra space, use this link: Workflowy

🛠️ Brain.fm

I use Brain.fm for many different purposes. I started using functional music since its early beginning in 2009, and have found it to be an incredible tool in my arsenal (when I take the time to use it). Functional music include technology to elicit strong neural phase locking, i.e. it allows populations of neurons to engage in various kind of coordinated activities. There are different apps and services available out there, and so far my favourite has been Brain.fm. Why? They work with experts in the field–neuroscientists and psychologists–to develop ideas, run experiments, and continually improve their music while not looking at expenses.

—>> Check out the science here

—>> Get a free account using my special link

Final Thoughts

You can’t do anything yourself when it comes to curing or stopping the spread of COVID-19, but there are things you can do that can reduce your panic and invoke an overwhelming sense of calmness.

By taking advantage of mindfulness, looking for a creative outlet, and even giving back to those who need it, you’ll be able to stay calm and centred, even now!

In case you’re looking for more support, take a look at the courses below: