WIth the Covid-19 virus forcing us to social distance ourselves and stay in our homes for the forcible future, it’s easy to get caught up worrying about our jobs, finances, or how we’re going to manage our children during this time.
Anxiety and stress can overwhelm us in times like these and it’s in these moments when we need to make sure we take a time out and check in with our mental wellbeing and adjust when we need to. One way to do this is by staying positive.
Thinking positive is critical in every state of anxiety, not only can it help control the physical component of anxiety and initiate all those behaviours that will improve our anxious state; but improving our mental attitudes, that is, our way of thinking, can help us get through some of the most difficult times in our lives. Behind every process of anxiety, there are often concerns that overwhelm us, negative thoughts, fears, etc. if it’s not approached in an effective way it can easily generate anxiety. Thinking is something we do all day, even when we sleep, we keep thinking through dreams. The negative thoughts that affect anxiety are the constant concerns, those that overwhelm us and gradually lead to an escalation of anxiety. There are people who worry about "everything", react in an exaggerated way, take things out of proportion, focus on the negative, get easily annoyed, are always in a bad mood, etc. All these attitudes to life and its circumstances can easily become a habit over time or an attitude that is learned. How do you get to keep yourself from falling into the pit of self-doubt, overwhelming stress and anxiety and acquire the practice of reacting to life in a calmer way, serenely helping to make difficulties easier to manage? Here are a few things that can help:
Positive expressions and phrases
Our way of expressing ourselves, that is, our verbal language has a tremendous influence on how we shape our thoughts and feelings. When we value things positively and use positive and motivating language to refer to situations it will also help us feel better and improve our self-esteem. Becoming aware of how a negative or positive approach changes our views and opinions is the first step in consciously changing them.
Reviewing daily attitudes, observing how we react to daily negative experiences, and using positive language and thinking will help us face these situations with optimism and greater security. For example, we may find ourselves using negative language that can change how we look at our ability to do things; it is not the same to say "I think I can” or using a more positive alternative phrase such as "I'm sure I can", or say "I don't think I'm capable" to "Of course I'm going to get it.” Incorporate and enrich your language with more positive messages, and phrases of encouragement are not easy to do but with practice, more positive use of language will help to encourage you and your loved ones.
To be positive is not to see everything through rose coloured glasses because on many occasions; such as the one we are in right now; the situation may truly be unpleasant. This is where positive thoughts (accompanied by mood phrases) can help us choose an alternative way of looking at the situation that makes us feel better, calms us down, focuses and helps us cope with daily life and find the resolve we need to get through it.
Without a doubt, the way we relate to our problems has a lot to do with the speed and effectiveness of the solutions we apply. Learning to react to life in a more serene way will make problems that seem "insurmountable" easier to manage by acquiring new habits of positive thinking.
Learning to see the bottle half-full instead of half-empty
Don't try to understand everything, sometimes it's not about understanding but accepting.
Improving the quality of your life, being aware of how you think, and recognize what your positive and negative thinking habits are like can go a long way. Look at your thoughts and how you feel, to be positive means to be in harmony.
We can all choose how to respond to this unusual and stressful situation.
We can't change the experience but we can CHANGE how WE deal with it!