Health & Well-Being Newsletter
Family Wellness & Disease Prevention Edition
Make your own picture book!
Tips to feel calm and centered
How are you today? Are you doing OK with the change to some of your daily routines? The outbreak of Corona-virus (2019-nCoV) this year has influenced our lives in many ways. Facing the uncertainties of the unknown disease and coping with it is not an easy task. You may sometimes feel anxious or worried about the uncertain situation. These feelings you are having are a perfectly normal reaction to an abnormal situation like this. Here are some tips to help you feel more centered.
1. Get correct information to understand the situation
When faced with danger to life or similar emotions, it’s natural for your body to go into fight or flight mode. Fear is an emotion in response to an immediate threat. Anxiety is related to concerns of what may happen in the future. Our bodily sensations of the two emotions are the same. Under the current situation, we need to be realistic about how to cope with the fearful situation and to let go of anxiety. Getting correct information but not overwhelming yourself with anxiety is an important first step. You don’t have to follow the news to know about development of corona-virus all the time. There are reliable websites updating what is happening in Taiwan daily, for example, Centers for Disease Control (English) or 疾病管制署(中文). For Chinese speakers, you can add their office Line account “疾管家” to your mobile phone. WHO provides the latest information for what we know about the 2019-nCoV if you want to know more about the disease. Here is the advice on the use of mask from WHO. Stay away from sensationalist headlines and click bait which do not provide accurate information.
2. Release stress and anxiety
Eating well-balanced meals, getting enough sleep and exercising daily will help you feel good and maintain your health. You can take time to practice yoga, listen to music or meditate to feel calm. Now, I also want to invite you to try a simple method to release the emotion-bound muscle tension. First locate the anxiety in your body. This could be tight shoulders or a clenching jaw or stiff neck. What we are going to do next may sound a bit counter-intuitive, but I want you to tense up. Ready? Take a deep breath and tense up your body for 5 seconds and then release your muscle. Practice this for 3 to 5 times to help your body release the emotion-bound muscle tension.
3. Ground and center yourself
Getting in touch with ourselves helps us to feel grounded. Being mindful of what we see, hear and feel connects us to our heart. Put your focus on your visual, auditory and body for a short period of time to help your mind go back to a neutral state. Take a look at your environment and describe what you observe to yourself. For example, “I am aware of seeing a chair, a flower pot, a printer”. Then move on to describing the sounds around you, “I am aware of hearing piano music at the background. I am aware of footsteps approaching and someone is chatting on the phone. Finally, put your feet on the floor and have a body scan. “I am aware of feeling warm in the room. I am aware that I am sitting on a soft sofa”.
4. Imagine the safe place
Having the image of a safe place in mind provides an anchor of safety and increases our mental safety feelings. A safety place is a place represents safety for you. Everyone have different answers for their safe place. Now close your eyes and try to detail the places. Recall the safe feelings where you were there last time. Allow your body to feel safe in this imagination.
5. Take adaptive actions
Increase safety in your environment to help you feel safe. Stay calm before you take actions. Necessary actions vary according to the different states people are in. Do what are advised to do help protect yourself and others. Washing your hands frequently and wearing a mask when necessary. If you feel physically unwell, please contact medical service for assistance. If you need professional counseling support to cope with your anxiety and fear, please email ceo.office@tes.tp.edu.tw and we will get back to you soon.
This wonderful, informative comic was created to help people understand the coronavirus, how it is spread, and what you can do to stay protected. All credit goes to @dumo.art https://www.facebook.com/dumo.art/