How To Cope With Uncertainty: Managing Pandemic Stress
Uncertainty is an emotion we feel when we aren’t sure about our situation. For the last 15 months the COVID-19 pandemic has left us all uncertain. We can’t make plans, we are on pins and needles waiting for schools or our employers to decide their next course of action and we may be feeling uncertain about our own health (are our sniffles due to allergies or COVID?). We all have values we are trying to live, and periods of uncertainty make our path forward unclear. The distress you feel about uncertainty is normal because your values are important and you don’t have a clear path to move towards them. While uncertainty is inevitable from time to time, there are definitely things we can do to help ourselves cope.
Make space for your feelings: Your feelings are just trying to help you, and ignoring them only makes them more intense. It is better to listen to them when they are a whisper so they do not become a deafening shout. You can do this by journaling, taking a mindful minute to sit in silence and reflect on your emotions and thoughts or letting yourself cry if you feel like it.
Be flexible with your expectations: Keep the bar lower than usual in terms of your expectations of things. This will help buffer you against disappointment and the stress of your plans changing.
Connect with loved ones: When we are anxious, connecting with our loved ones can literally soothe our nervous systems. Even if you are not talking about your stress, just hearing their voice or sharing a moment with them can be reassuring.
Take care of your body: Stress takes a toll on your body, particularly your cardiovascular system. It is important to take care of your body by sleeping and eating well, staying on top of your medications, attending your regular check-ups and getting regular exercise. Please, do not underestimate the health benefits of exercise! It will improve your sleep, keep your energy up and give you a hit of endorphins.
Find Pleasurable Activities: Make time to engage in hobbies or run activities. If you have not engaged in a hobby in a very long time, check out the Life Kit Podcast’s suggestions.
Reflect on your strengths: This is the part where you give yourself a pep-talk. In a challenging situation, reflect on past successes that can help bolster your confidence about this next challenge. It might be helpful to have a short list of challenges you have conquered already.
While uncertainty is not meant to be comfortable, trying the strategies above may help you still be effective in the face of this global pandemic. When this pandemic is over, and it eventually will be, you want to be able to reflect on this crisis and know that you lived your values to the fullest. Coping with uncertainty doesn’t mean that you aren’t feeling scared, angry or upset…. It means that you are embracing those feelings and moving forward in a meaningful way with them.