18 Ways to Cope

Image by Deborah Hudson from Pixabay

I began this list thinking it would be just five things we can do to cope during this highly stressful time. It ballooned to 18 things. Hopefully this helps anyone who needs it currently. I’m not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand, but it’s not healthy for anyone to constantly consume news content without balancing it with other activities.

This list isn’t prescriptive. Please take what you need from it. The first three items are most geared to someone who is actively panicking.

1. Breathing Exercises

Square Breathing

This is a technique to help one calm down. Take air in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, and hold for 4 seconds. You can keep repeating this until you feel better.

Senses Exercise

Count down from 5 then name one thing you can see, one you can hear, one you can taste, one you can smell, and one you can touch in your surroundings.

Just Breathe

Breathe in and out slowly until you feel better. Focus on your breathing rather than the stressor.

2. Tap into Your Support System

Talk about things with friends who can handle it. We’re all in this right now and we all have perspectives that may help you get through it. None of us know how any of it is going to go, but we may have life experience that can help.

3. Take Control of Your Immediate Environment

Sometimes just focusing on mundane things like dishes and laundry that you have control over can be the thing that helps one feel better when they are spinning out. This is a good time to clean out that corner or chair that junk seems to flow to as well. You can even start a larger declutter effort to improve your entire living space. Getting rid of items you don’t enjoy much leaves more space for the items you love much more.

4. Laughter is Great Medicine

It can be hard to laugh at times like this, but it is something that can truly help. Find some comedic performers you enjoy and escape for a bit. Laugh about silly things that happen. Joke about things with friends. Watch comedy films.

5. Get Oxytocin Flowing

Oxytocin is the happiness hormone. Hugs and group activities like choir or team sports provide oxytocin. So does eating healthy, listening to music, exercising, petting animals, getting a massage, and having sex. When I’m on social media, I often enjoy watching cute animal videos.

6. Pick Up a New Hobby

Distract yourself with a fun, new hobby. Learn an instrument, join a sport, take up a needlecraft, learn to draw, etc. You’ll be adding a skill and filling some of the time with something constructive to do.

7. Take Joy in the Small Moments

A couple of weeks ago, someone thought I was in my early 30s. Part of me would love to go back to that decade with what I know now. My babyface, height, and smile make me look younger than I am and I’m quite used to people getting this wrong. When I was younger, I would get angry or annoyed about it. Now, I feel flattered when it happens.

8. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Tense and release each of your body parts starting from the toes and moving upward.

9. Practice Gratitude

Focus on the things in your life that are going well and appreciate them. I keep a jar that I add bits of paper to throughout the year. I read them all at the start of the new year to remember all the good things that happened. It’s easy to dwell on the negative things, but this is one way to help counteract how the negatives tend to stick in the mind.

10. Journal

Write down the things that are bothering you in order to get it out of your system. In writing it down, it becomes less of a tornado of the mind. You admit what is worrisome and your mind can then be freer to figure out how you can fight it or fix it.

11. Practice Mindfulness

Go about your days being more deliberate. Focus on things that make you feel calm. Slow down some to allow yourself to be more aware of your own body and its needs.

12. Reduce Caffeine

Caffeine is not good for anxiety. Yes, even if you have ADHD. It increases adrenaline, which can increase anxiety. It can also mess with your sleep cycle and dehydrate you.

13. Get Sleep

Adults should be getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. You may need more if you are under a lot of stress.

14. Meditate

Meditation can take on many forms. Yoga is one. Knitting can also be meditative. Walking, dance, music, being in nature, gardening, and painting are several other possibilities. You don’t have to literally sit and think if it’s not something you enjoy. You can do visualization exercises as part of meditating if you don’t have aphantasia.

15. Read

You may find reading books about fighting back increases your anxiety or helps you prepare for what may lay ahead. These may be books like 1984 by George Orwell, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Book of the Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, The Chatelaine by Kate Heartfield, etc. You can also read books that decrease your anxiety by taking you away from reality entirely. Either way, a librarian can help you find a good read for you.

16. Aromatherapy

If you aren’t sensitive to scents, you can add aromatherapy into many of the activities listed above. Several scents like lavender or vanilla are calming. Please remember to practice fire safety if it’s a candle or incense that you are using.

17. Take Supplements

Certain supplements like Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 can be helpful for mental health. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin and it’s especially important to take during the winter months. B vitamins are energy boosters that are important for a lot of bodily functions and a healthy mind. Vitamin C helps support the immune system.

18. Engage in Protest Activities

Choose the kinds of activities that work for you. For example, I’m a pen protester rather than a marcher. I write government officials about changes I’d like to see. Only go to marches and such if you can and feel comfortable doing so. There are many ways to protest.