How to Overcome COVID-19 Anxiety

Author: Nebo D. Lukovich

Learner, Reader, Student of Life

Nebo D. Lukovich

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

​As every individual human being has their ups and downs, so does mankind. Each of us regularly faces various hardships, which are, in fact, results of our prolonged periods of stagnation in numerous areas of our life. That’s the purpose of every hardship-an opportunity for awakening, for change.
 
Collective entities like families, nations, or the whole of humanity, also experience recurring challenges, similar to individuals. Whenever there is stagnation and lethargy in our collective mind, a big change is inevitable.
 
Our species is facing difficult times. The history of mankind is rich with these episodes-wars, diseases, earthquakes, floods, economic crises… We are currently experiencing such a period. The COVID-19 pandemic is a harsh reminder for us all to wake up.
 
Our collective mind is overwhelmed with this pandemic. Our individual minds are immersed in this sea of fear and anxiety, too. Can you feel it? Do you often find yourself thinking about coronavirus threat, numerous fatalities, looming danger of becoming infected, or the economic crisis it has already generated? Most probably you do. The majority of people are strongly drawn to that whirlpool.
 
Anxiety and fear are the natural response to the unknown, and these conditions are certainly abundant with many unknowns and concerns. So, do not blame yourself or others for that.
 
 
How to Cope with COVID-19 Fear? 

So, what can one do in this situation? Here are some guidelines for staying healthy, safe, mentally and emotionally stable, and even for turning this challenging time into a unique opportunity for your development.
 
1.   Follow the Instructions of Authorities 

​This is the first and most important thing. Follow all the instructions and measures imposed by the government and medical authorities. This is essential. ​

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

​In practice, we all know what this means:

• If you feel unwell (fever, cough, difficult breathing, etc.), seek medical care immediately and self-isolate from others in the household;
• Take care rigorously of your hygiene, e.g., wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean;
• Disinfect frequently all places in your home;
• Maintain social distancing–at least 2 m between you and other people; no handshaking, no physical contacts;
• Stay at home;
• Wear appropriate rubber gloves and masks, whenever needed, and wash or dispose of them after using;
• Avoid spitting in the public;
• Practice respiratory hygiene, which means sneezing and coughing into your mask, tissue, or sleeve; then dispose of the used tissue or mask immediately, wash and disinfect the clothes, etc.

 
2.   Limit Your Media Exposure 

This problem is obvious. People must be informed about the disease and appropriate advice related to it. However, when you expose yourself too much to this media hustle, you will inevitably be infused with fear, collective anxiousness, and all kinds of harmful thoughts, beliefs, and disinformation. This will corrupt your emotional stability, mind, your energetic being, and eventually your immune system.
 
Do not forget that repetitive thoughts will attract that same very subject in the real world. The same stands for fearing something. Therefore, if you are thinking continually about COVID-19 and are anxious about it, you are attracting it!

Instead, transform your compulsion for media into a mindfulness trigger. Whenever you feel the impulse to open the news websites or watch the TV with stories about the pandemic, become consciously present. You will gradually become more and more detached from these contents and regain your composure. But more about mindfulness triggers in one of the subsequent pieces of advice.

3. Apply the ATI Technique Whenever Possible 

To overcome the fear and anxiety related to COVID-19, my strong recommendation is to use a quick but very effective mental/emotional technique that may be applied in every other situation as well. Its name is Accepting the Temporary I (ATI).
 
As soon as you learn it, you will instantly recognize its astonishing efficiency. Whenever you become aware of your anxiety or fear, apply the ATI method and you will sense an immediate relief.
 
So, when you want to dissolve an unwanted experience with the ATI technique, you will:
1) Direct your attention to it and pinpoint its location (if possible);
2) Feel your “Temporary I” from which you are experiencing the content, and finally,
3) Completely accept the “Temporary I.”
 
Temporary I is your current I-feeling. It is the place or small area in your body where you feel your sense of “I” is most noticeable at that particular moment.
 
The ATI technique is described in detail here, while the concept of Temporary I and how to find it is depicted here.
 
You can do the ATI in countless common situations, especially in coping with typical anxiety, such as the fear of COVID-19 pandemic and its possible disastrous consequences.
 
For example, if you become aware that you are overwhelmed with fretful thoughts, you can accept and dissolve your Temporary I from which you are experiencing them. They will disappear, at least for a while. Or, if you find yourself flooded with emotions of fear, worry, angst, or anger, notice the location of your Temporary I and accept it.
 
Of course, if this mind content on which you were doing the ATI arises again, just repeat the procedure until it vanishes. Similarly, if you are in the company of a nervous or irritating person, you may quietly accept several times the Temporary I from which you are feeling the annoyance.
 
While you are reading articles or watching the TV news about the disease, try to do the ATI as many times as possible. This will make you stable and immune to all these bothersome influences.

​Each time you do the ATI, you will notice that your unwanted mental or emotional content has vanished. At least for a while, you are free from it. However, as the ATI is only a basic Reintegration technique, it does not deal with the root of your problems.
 
After some practice, you will do each step of the ATI fast and easy, so the whole process will take you no more than five to ten seconds.
 
4.   Mindfulness 

Mindfulness is the practice of being consciously present in the Now whenever and wherever possible. The more you develop this skill, the more you will be free from all kinds of unnecessary thoughts, body tension, disturbing emotions, and, of course, the COVID-19 anxiety.
 
You have to do any activity fully conscious of yourself and of the activity itself.
 
Although many people don’t consider it as strictly spiritual, mindfulness indeed is a purely divine practice. It leads you to your true nature while dissolving your inner conflicts softly and almost imperceptibly. Moreover, every conscious moment in the Now will gradually accumulate and make your whole life easier. It will abate or even prevent challenges.
 
When mindfulness becomes your intrinsic way of living, you will enjoy every task, you will become light and, in a strange way, even transparent. You will start sensing some inexplicable joy and deep inner peace. You will feel love more and more, both to yourself and the people around you.
 
On the Reintegration website, you can find an excerpt from my book “Inner Peace, Outer Success” about mindfulness. It describes this practice in numerous everyday situations, including how to develop specific mindfulness triggers - situations that your subconscious mind instantly recognizes as automatic activators of your conscious presence.
 
Accordingly, you may create mindfulness triggers from the fear and excessive thinking about this pandemic. Thus, whenever you find yourself thinking about the disease, or fearing it, you will automatically become consciously present and your thoughts and anxiety will subside.

​5. Meditate Regularly 

Steady meditation practice has a variety of benefits. It will provide you with additional love, health, strength, calmness, creativity, clarity, and smoothness in your life. It will surely help you a lot in these times of pandemic.
 
Meditation goes side by side with mindfulness. Without regular meditation sittings, your mindfulness can easily lose its foundation. Therefore, it is highly recommended to practice them concurrently.
 
You have countless varieties of meditation at your disposal. Within the Reintegration System, you can choose, for example, pure awareness or body/emotional awareness meditation, which are quite similar to those presented by Eckhart Tolle. You could also practice loving-kindness meditation, which is, in my opinion, very important. Meditation practice may also be focused on a mindful walk, open-focus awareness, acceptance, relaxation with the reintegration of subconscious structures, etc.
 
One example of “pure awareness” meditation technique is the following:

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