5 Tips for Coping with Uncertainty…
1. Dealing with worry
It is totally natural to feel scared, worried and fearful not only by the Coronavirus pandemic but also by all the other aspects of our lives it has affected; relationships, routines, jobs, finances, plans, our mental and physical health. The relentless news stories can become addictive, in a way of feeling ‘like you need to know what’s going on’ but then feeling overwhelmed with news, fear and uncertainty. All the unhelpful thinking patterns, the ‘what if’s’ and ‘how am I going to cope’ thoughts that bring us down, affect our sleep, add to the worry!
However there are lots of really useful websites, ideas and guides online and even worksheets on the ‘get self-help’ website, if you find it easier putting pen to paper? Even just writing down your worries can stop them swirling round in your head. Have a look at these websites below for more ideas…
www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/why-we-worry/201206/10-tips-manage-your-worrying
I have also found this pocket guide for dealing with worry which has more information and useful further reading…
www.mindingyourhead.info/sites/default/files/publications/pocket_guide_for_worry.pdf
2. Focusing on what you CAN control…
and not what you can’t…
The Serenity Prayer, which is favoured in addiction recovery programs is a really useful reminder, whether you are religious or not, to focus on what you can and cannot change.
Try to take action on the things you can control, try and look after yourself as much as you can. There are numerous ideas for ‘self-care’ but even just reading through some of these ideas is a start and then making some small changes is often the most successful and achievable.
https://tinybuddha.com/blog/45-simple-self-care-practices-for-a-healthy-mind-body-and-soul/
3. We cannot predict the future or change the past…
How many of us look forward to something only for it not to fully meet our expectations, or play out conversations, interviews, situations in our heads? We can wish we said something different, funnier, quicker, or we ‘plan’ what we are going to say – only for the ‘conversation’ to not go as we planned? However much we would like to be able to however we cannot predict the future or change the past. (Read the Serenity Prayer again!)
If you need to try and break these thought patterns or at least have some relief from them there are different things you can try…
- Mindfulness / Mediation…There are numerous apps and you tube videos, I like Insight Timer as you can filter by topic, or how long you have and there are thousands of different styles and guided meditations to try.
- Walking (or any other form of exercise), any way of moving your body as shifting your body will shift your mood, the hardest part is turning up or forcing yourself to do it, but once you have you WILL feel better.
- Choose something from the self care lists above, a distraction and focusing on something else might be all you need for now.
4. Have some contingency plans…
Not being able to predict the future doesn’t mean not planning for the future. You can take some action on what is worrying you instead of ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away or get better on its own.
Finances; if your financial situation is worrying you, spend some time to actually work out your income and expenditure, you can use an online calculator to do this on the Citizens Advice Website
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/budgeting/budgeting/work-out-your-budget/
Work out where you can cut back and use the Money Saving Expert website to reduce your bills.
Jobs; if you are worried you might lose your job start to look around to see what there is, refresh or write your CV, (there are many templates and websites to help with this) look at local online courses that you might be able to start now, often for free?
5. Use it to your advantage…
Is now the time to follow your dream and to pursue a different path or career that you never had time to before? Can you harness the uncertainty and change it into something positive?
Have you picked up a hobby in lockdown that you now really enjoy and want to take it further? Could you sell what you have made, or re-train in a different field? Start a community or support group now you know some of your neighbours that you didn’t know before? Even just writing down ideas of what you would like to do, even if it seems impossible to achieve, can be the start of something new, fulfilling and exciting, what have you got to lose?
I would love to hear from you with any comments or feedback of what helps you and what else you would like to hear about in the future…
So what about us at high risk that are still shielding .all I get is go or a walk.I have also got M.E and live alone .I need my very small amount of energy to manage day to day tasks.
Hi Julie, thank you for taking the time to comment and it sounds really difficult for you. Is there anything that I could try to find out for you that might help your situation?