How to manage fear and anxiety during Covid-19 pandemic

Pandemics cause fear and anxiety even to the most resilient, but how we respond to these can determine how psychologically and physiologically bruised we shall emerge on the other side of this current one.

Fear will not ease the handling of this pandemic. Instead, it will negatively affect our mind and body. In the worst case, fear lowers your immunity and makes it more difficult for you to heal should you contract Covid-19. Knowing how to manage fear is an important skill to learn in these hard times.

Is fear good for you?

Fear is a chain reaction in your brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause the heart to race, breathing to accelerate and muscles to energise, preparing your body for a fight-or-flight response.

Fear is good

The primal fear inbuilt in our system acts as a signal of danger, threat or motivational conflict to trigger our mind and body to adaptively respond to physical or emotional events that can harm us. We should act on fear by quickly reviewing information about the danger and taking relevant measures.

Fear is bad

We should not live in fear. Fear can interrupt brain processes that regulate emotions, the ability to read non-verbal cues and other communication, and thinking before acting. Fear negatively impacts our thinking and decision-making, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions.

The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified our fear and anxiety due to the uncertainty of almost everything about it. We are unclear of its origins, new information about its effect on the human body and organs keeps emerging, infection numbers are fluctuating wildly, speculative information about a cure or vaccine is leaving us confused and governments’ reactions and guidelines just don’t make sense anymore. We are overwhelmed.

One of the side effects of this is forwarding information without verifying it and therefore causing more harm to others too. In our own fear and anxiety, we flood social media with harmful information with no regard for the ethics of information sharing.

One of the most memorable quotes in popular culture was uttered by the extra-terrestrial character Yoda in Star Wars: Episode I: “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering”. These words tell us that it starts with fear and ends in our own suffering and that of others.

You can conquer fear

Nelson Mandela once said “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”. Your best response to the fear and anxiety that has gripped all of us in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is to acknowledge it then create an environment that fosters your own wellbeing. These seven measures can help you create such an environment and help you conquer your fear and anxiety.

1. Get the right information

Get information about the virus from credible sources such as the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health to arm yourself with facts, including how to avoid infection and what to do should you or a loved one get infected with Covid-19.

 2.  Do not flood yourself with Covid-19 news

Choose what is sufficient for you to know. Perhaps check updates once a day or thrice a week.

 3.  Boost your immune system.

Research on the effects of loneliness says that when people lack social connections, they are more likely to suffer from physical health problems. Exercise and enough vitamins can help build your immunity. Listening to upbeat music or watching a movie can also boost your immune function by giving your mind that feel-good feeling.

 4.  Structure your day

For some people, self-isolation might lead to some mild mental health issues. Having a set schedule for mealtimes and a set bedtime and work can help you to stay on track and is helpful for children. Planning out activities and setting goals can also help keep you motivated and stop you from feeling down.

 5.  Maintain social contact

During self-isolation, you should stay in contact with your social network. This can be as simple as phoning a friend, sending an email or joining in a discussion via social media. Reach out instead of drowning your anxiety in alcohol. You could, for example, have a once-a-day video call with workmates or with a friend or family. You could share pictures with friends on social media on new ideas like food, clothing or gardening.

 6.   Make your home a safe nest

Clean and declutter your space: personal and communal hygiene is very important to our wellbeing and more so at this time of Covid-19. Follow the Ministry of Health directives on washing hands, wearing masks and physical distancing.

 7.   Avoid “cabin fever”

While working from home, sitting in one place for an extended period of time can be mentally and physically counterproductive. Make sure you take regular breaks: get up, walk outside and move before returning to your workstation. If you have a child of schoolgoing age, schedule their study time jointly with your work hours. Have family discussions on the new arrangement and how to support each other.

Above all, have some fun. Sometimes having fun by yourself is all the therapy you need. Remember, social distancing is not the same as social isolation.

 Dinah Kituyi is regional manager, IREX SAFE project.