A simple exercise for dealing with #covid-19 stress

A friend asked this question recently —

I am not a person who typically stresses but the uncertainty of the Covid-19 Pandemic is weighing heavily on me. I am interested in techniques and tools people are using to cope and de-stress?

I wrote him a quick reply, which apparently was quite helpful, so I figured I’d put it out here for the world.

A simple thought reframing exercise

Take a piece of pen and paper (this is important, don’t type this), and do the following:

1. What is the thought I’m having. Write it down.
2. Separate fact from stories. What are the core facts, and how is my brain turning that into a story that is stressing me out?
3. Rewrite the story based on the facts.
4. Is there anything else you can *do* to mitigate the negative thought? If yes, do it or make a plan to do it..
5. Now you’ve done everything you can, take a deep breath and try to gently let go of that thought.

Here would be an example:

1. Stressful thought: My parents are going to die from Coronavirus.
2. Facts: Although they are an “at risk” population, they are aware of the risk and taking appropriate self isolations steps. Additionally, national action is starting, and the actual death rate is still relatively low and countries are starting to show we can contain the virus.
3. New story: My parents are at risk from the coronovirus… there is a chance that something bad happens, but it isn’t likely.
4. What can I do? Call them and make sure they know I care.
5. Ok.. time to let this one go.

Using pen and paper 📝 is much more effective for this exercise than typing.

I hope this is useful in this time.. and remember, keep calm and change what you’re doing.