Cultivating Resilience in Times of Crisis

The current Corona virus pandemic continues to force significant lifestyle changes and is presenting society with a unique set of unknowns about the future of our world. This is leaving many of us feeling extremely uneasy, and perhaps with a heightened sense of anxiety and fear. Such feelings are an understandable and valid reaction to the unique circumstances.

Enhancing one’s own safety and wellbeing is imperative during this difficult time.

And yet, this does not mean we need to be in a constant state of fear or alarm in order to follow the recommended protocols. In fact, it’s essential to our health that we reduce our perception of threat, as over time, this is very depleting.

But how do we do this when there is a valid fear present?

Tuning into and enhancing resilience is essential to fostering wellbeing, especially during times of significant stress. In fact, focusing on resilience can reduce our stress response. And reducing stress enhances our immune system and supports our bodies to ward off illness! This benefits our physical, mental and emotional health.

It is beneficial to cultivate a stance of mindful awareness as opposed to hyper-vigilance.

The latter is a threat-based response and in itself a significant stressor. Mindful awareness allows us to notice and assess risk, to take effective action when possible, to recognize when things are out of our control, as well as to let go, relax, and embrace safety. It’s the holding of both risk and safety simultaneously. And perhaps with a heavier lean toward awareness of safety (which includes health, wellbeing, vitality, connection, and support). This shift in focus promotes resilience. Easier said than done, yes, but the good news is there are many ways to practice!

Here are some ways to practice mindful awareness to reduce stress and cultivate resilience:

Name it to Tame It:

Acknowledge fear and anxiety with gentleness and compassion. Again, they are valid feelings. There is tremendous power in just naming an emotion and sometimes just doing that can begin to bring relief.

Practice Gratitude:

Write a gratitude list daily and expand on how each item makes you feel. This allows the process to deepen and for the brain and nervous system to fully register positive experience. Focusing on positive experiences is incredibly important so that fear and anxiety (or other negative emotion) don’t get all of your attention. Resilience is amplified when you focus on things that make you feel good! For example: “It feels really good when I take a walk. I’m grateful for the health and strength of my body. It feels refreshing to breathe fresh air and feel the sun on my skin. There is much beauty in the natural world that I enjoy seeing.”

Seek Positive Topics:

Refocus your attention onto topics that feel good and/or promote a sense of ease and well-being. This might be thinking about how much you love your pet, remembering a great vacation you took, picturing someone who loves you unconditionally, or even relishing in the taste of your favorite meal or treat. Again, focusing on positive emotion promotes resilience. It helps broaden your perspective to allow your attention to hold both the challenge and the resource that your life experience provides.

Focus on What’s In Your Control:

It’s natural that your brain goes toward problems and concerns being faced. And yet, there is often little to nothing you can do about things such as what the government is doing or how others are or are not following recommended protocols. Also, focusing on things out of your control increases negative emotion like fear, anxiety, frustration, and hopelessness. Instead, focus on what you can do. For example, to increase safety you can wash your hands more, wear a mask, and limit your exposure to others. You also have choices about what you do with your time. Consider what will feel good to you. Take a walk, call a friend, write letters, read a book, do yoga, pray. Despite the current limitations, you still have a lot of choices. Focusing on where you have choice and what’s in your control is helpful in reducing your body’s stress response. Also, remember you have a choice about where your thoughts are focused. This is incredibly important! If you are thinking about something that is amplifying negative feeling, try to shift your focus to another subject.

Filter:

It’s important to have breaks from crisis focus. This may include limiting your intake of news. It is important to be informed but it’s also important to have breaks from the media. Constant attention does not help you get more informed but it will feed hyper-vigilance. Tune into how you are impacted by different news sources. You might consider reading news versus listening or watching. Choose the source that is the least stressful. It’s also important in conversation with others to talk about “normal life” things. Try to be mindful about constant talk about Covid-related issues. Be sure to talk about topics you enjoy and things that you can anticipate in the future.

Practicing mindful awareness and cultivating resilience promotes well-being, enhances health, reduces the body’s stress response, and ultimately makes it a little easier to get through this difficult period of uncertainty.

Wishing you health and vitality always!

Fondly,

Mari