5 Strategies to Cope With Anxiety During COVID-19

The year 2020 brings us a remarkable and disastrous gift that no one has ever expected.

One early spring morning at UC San Diego, the smell of blooming flowers along the library walk is refreshing my mind. The sun is dazzlingly shining under the blue clear sky. The campus with tens of thousands of students heading to different classes, dining halls with voices of chit-chatting, and the library being packed with studious students, liven the university life.

Everything is beautifully relaxing until the worst nightmare strikes everyone on campus.

It is a terrifying moment. We are all in the middle of a global pandemic. As the Coronavirus continues to spread throughout the community, we all have been impacted. With the notice of universities switching towards a remote education, the closure of libraries, and gyms make it easy to panic. Most students return back to their home country while others move off-campus. The practice of social-distancing and quarantine order lead to the disappearance of liveliness, and only silence is left all over the campus.

To a great extent, all these sudden changes happen a week before finals. In addition to having academic stress, dealing with uncertainty is double-stressed which is the hardest thing to handle.

Day by day, a wave of panic buying escalates and the empty grocery shelves give a sign of supply shortage.

Instead of focusing on studying, unanswered questions keep popping up in my mind: “When is it going to end?”, “Are we at great risk?”

Reading news is more overwhelming because all I see is the increasing death rate.

The impact of the pandemic is a prolonged shocking experience for many people, and it negatively overturns our routine functions including layoffs and the threat of financial stability.

Although it may be hard to accept this situation, the uncertainty is an inevitable part of life. It is important to remind ourselves that regardless of how hard times we are in, there are many ways to manage our stress and anxiety. Below are the FIVE most important strategies to follow.

1.) Focus on things that are under control

We might not be able to control the coronavirus outbreak throughout the world, but little actions from every single person can reduce risk of getting infected and prevent from spreading one another.

• Wash hands regularly (for at least 20 seconds) with soap and water, and use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Always wear masks and keep 6 feet social distancing
• Avoid unnecessary outdoor gatherings

2.) Maintain Physical Wellness

Taking action to reduce anxiety levels can help cope with the uncertainty in life.

• Get plenty of sleep: Sleep deprivation can induce a level of stress and anxiety.
• Exercise: Staying active can help strengthen the immune system. Going for a walk or indoor exercises like yoga are ways to maintain self-care.
• Have a healthy diet: When stressed, it is easy to lose track of appetite and can affect eating habits. To protect ourselves, it is important to have balanced meals.

3.) Stay connected

During social distancing, we are at a high risk of suffering from loneliness and isolation. That is why it is important to maintain social connections.

• Staying in touch with friends and family through phone calls or face-to-face contact can reduce the risk of depression
• Social media is also a powerful tool to keep in touch with the outside world and communities.

4.) Educate yourself

There are many great ways to push ourselves to grow. Here are a few ideas to get started!

• Free online courses: Take advantage of free educational materials (eg. Coursera) to earn educational or professional accreditation.
• Educative platforms: There are ways to stay engaged with educational tools (eg. YouTube) to explore universal learning goals from home.

5.) Build a new hobby

Having more time staying at home is the best opportunity to discover a variety of new activities. It helps us to relieve stress as well as to stay active physically and mentally.

• Learn new language: Studying new language provides an opportunity to build more connections.
• Gardening: Growing your own vegetables and fruits is a relaxing and fun way to get in touch with nature.
• Baking/Cooking: Spending time in the kitchen making recipes is not only fun but also a productive way to improve our cooking skills.

Be mindful that life can change very fast and in an unpredictable way. The most valuable life lesson the lockdown has taught me is that there is nothing truly more important in life than “Family, Friends, and Health.” Let’s make use of these situations to treasure our moments with beloved people, and to live our best life!