This year so far has been a doozy. When 2020 kicked off with devastating bushfires in Australia and floods in Jakarta where I live, I was craving the fresh energy that the lunar new year would bring. Then, along came the novel corona virus COVID-19, and it now seems that the whole world has been swept up in even more chaos. It’s hard not to get caught up in the panic and fear and I can feel my anxiety levels increasing with every day that goes by. Which has got me thinking, if I am feeling this way, then I am sure many other people are too. So let’s look at what we can we do to stay calm, quell our anxiety and ease the negativity and fear that seem to surround us at every turn right now in the crazy world we are living in.
Find Calm in the Chaos
Usually, we will experience anxiety and stress when we are being bombarded by information, expectations, and obligations. It can affect our mental health, our relationships, our self-confidence, our overall sense of well-being, and more.
With this type of repeated exposure to stressors, you may feel weakened and begin to experience emotional burnout. This just then leads to our immune system becoming rundown and we are not operating from a place of strength or good health physically. Having a compromised level of health is not good when we need to combat a threatening virus!
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to move past the overwhelm and to find your calm. Setting some concrete tasks in motion can help you to break the cycle of overwhelm and gain control over your life once more. I want to offer some usable tips to help you start to bring more peace to your world even when it feels like the whole world has gone a little bit mad.
Understanding Information Overload
Information overload is a major cause of productivity loss, along with related issues such as stress and anxiety. Many years ago, I became so overwhelmed by constantly being bombarded with negativity in the news that I made the decision to stop actively watching and reading the news. When I stopped taking in such an abundance of information, I was able to focus better and have more concentration.
These days, we definitely suffer from information overload more so than in the past where we just relied on books, newspapers and magazine magazines research and leisure.
We have also grown up with radio and TV of course, broadening the choices we had for getting information. But in more recent times, with electronic media everything changed. Today, anyone can be a publisher and can send out that information with immediacy. We're inundated with emails each day. There is a plethora of news sources to choose from, and we have to be very selective when deciding which we deem credible. Sorting through all of the alternatives can be exhausting.
Then there's social media. Talk about a deluge of information! There's Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and always something new to try and keep up with. Along with our friends and followers, there are millions of advertisers and businesses vying for our attention on social media channels through ads and sponsored posts. The flood of information and advertising we're faced with is incredible.
That’s not to mention the other types of online information we look to for our information and entertainment? Blogs, forums, Facebook groups, Wiki pages that anyone can be written by anyone about anything. Head to any search engine to type in any query, and you'll likely be met with thousands, if not millions, of sources within seconds. NO wonder we feel overwhelmed!
With the COVID-19 virus now in our midst, this overwhelm is only intensified. Whilst information is power, with too much information coming from too many sources, and not always reliable or accurate, it is not a wonder my anxiety levels are through the roof right now. Even consciously minimising the amount that I read, it’s hard not to be impacted. My empathy levels are through the roof, and with this comes the spike in anxiety too.
Avoid the Consequences of Information Overload
Our brains are wired to be able to process information in specific ways. They can only handle so much input at a time. Our brains have not yet adapted to the amount of work we're asking of them in today's digital age.
One major consequence of information overload is a decreased attention span. In simplistic terms, your brain lights up in areas that are immediately being used. In the background, it is scanning other areas in case their use is required. When an abundance of information is being sent to your brain at once, numerous areas must light up. This leaves little capacity for focusing attention. Hence, you may find yourself switching from task to task quickly, accomplishing little in the long run.
This frenzied use of your brain and sporadic focus of attention can lead to a number of negative consequences of their own. Loss of productivity occurs when your mind is everywhere and you're unable to focus. You simply can't get as much accomplished in the time you would if you were able to harness your brainpower to one thing. Information overload provides too many distractions that take away from your ability to concentrate and perform efficiently.
In addition, lots of negative emotions are related to this issue. When you're less productive, your self-esteem and sense of worth might take a hit. You're also likely to fall behind on your work, leading to a sense of heightened urgency. Stress, overwhelm, and mental exhaustion can result and it just makes everything feel even more chaotic.
Related Post: 5 Signs You’re Burning Out & How to Stop It
Switching from a work project to check in with social media is a common occurrence, as is answering every email alert you hear. While many can feel wiped out from being on high alert, others find it exhilarating. Internet or social media addiction is a very real thing! When my anxiety levels start to creep up, the first ting I will do is remove Instagram and Facebook from my phone to limit the amount of time I spend on those platforms and I will always notice my anxiety decline.
Information overload is also harmful to decision making. With so many choices, we feel overwhelmed and paralyzed. We may find it harder and harder to decide on simple things like which item to choose on a menu. Being inundated with data and having so much information at our fingertips can make deciphering the credible sources from the fake much more difficult, as well. Our brains can't keep up with the input that's being hurled our way. This is made even trickier when emotions are thrown into the mix, especially given the current frenzied political and social climate.
We also can't be expected to remember all of the buzz we're constantly being bombarded with. The onslaught of material we face each and every day, everywhere we go, causes poor information retention. It's simply too much to hold onto for long periods of time. Our brains can't retain it.
Due to a combination of all the above consequences, we're often left feeling depressed, anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed. Along with the toll that information takes on our brain function and productivity, our mental health ultimately suffers, too. How can we be expected to feel less than frazzled and unwell when we're dealing with such difficulties on top of managing our real lives?
The good news is that there are strategies available to help you cope. You don't have to sit back and be a passive victim to the overwhelming information availability . In fact, it's important to remember that having so much knowledge at your fingertips can be a good thing once you learn how to harness it.
How to Cope with Information Overload
There are actually lots of different ways to handle this information overload throughout various aspects of your life. It doesn't have to overwhelm you and zap your productivity. Technology and its ease of information dissemination is a good thing. The key is to understanding how to manage it all to your advantage.
When it comes to dealing with all of the information, media, messaging, choices, and distractions that come your way, the overarching theme must be to filter it all. Creating filters involves making strong decisions and setting priorities regarding what information you allow in, when you allow it, and how much of it is permitted. By creating filters you are in charge.
Time to Digital Detox
The first tip I want to share is to place self-imposed limits on your media use. Whether it's email, social media, television, texting, or even paper sources like magazines, it's important to limit the use of anything that takes up a significant portion of your time. Only you know what your biggest time-sucks are. Start with those first and set limits for the number of times you'll attend to them or the total amount of time you'll allow yourself to spend with them each day.
Decide how many times you'll allow yourself to check your email, visit social media, or mindlessly surf the web each day. Then stick to it, spending the rest of your time doing productive tasks. If other issues are your primary source of time-wasting, be sure to address those. Perhaps you're a fiction addict, so you'll need to limit your reading time. Maybe TV is your downfall. Whatever it is - set limits.
Once you start to take charge of your time in this way, you'll find you have more motivation to keep going. If your willpower is weak at first, you can apps that will limit your use of certain websites or email. You can set a time limit, and the sites will be inaccessible to you. There are also apps and programs that can help you streamline tasks automatically, such as filtering your email or automating your digital tasks. I use and love Sane Box for helping me to filter and organise my email.
Self-Care (of Course!)
Of course, it’s super important in times like this to practice extreme self-care. Set aside some quiet time each day to simply unwind away from all of the information that surrounds you. This unplugged time can be spent doing anything you enjoy, as long as it's quiet. Go for a walk outside in nature. Curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and your thoughts. Water your plants, or do a declutter. Doing so will have a restorative effect to help you reset your senses.
Related Post: 10 Top Tips for Improving Work-Life Balance
Find Clarity by Calming Your Mind
While dealing with the chaos in the proactive ways I just mentioned, there are days you may still find yourself feeling depleted. That's why it's important to engage in activities that calm the mind.
Meditation
Living in the moment and clearing the mind are the basic tenets of meditative practices. You learn to clear away all of the thoughts that are swirling around in your head and competing for your attention.
Mindfulness meditation has been shown by researchers to alleviate stress, reduce anxiety, and promote relaxation. By quieting your thoughts on a regular basis, you'll begin to notice benefits carry over throughout other aspects of your life outside of your meditative sessions. You gain a fresh perspective on the world, better coping mechanisms, and a less frenzied mind.
Your overall health and well-being will be improved through just a simple meditation practice on a regular basis. That's the key. Meditating only once isn't effective. This is something you'll need to incorporate into your life multiple times per week. It doesn't have to be difficult or overwhelming, though. Just a few minutes each day are actually enough to obtain the calming benefits.
Spiritual Practice
Having a regular spiritual practice is so important. If you already have an organised religion, you likely have some experience in using prayer to connect with a higher power. Even if you don't consider yourself to be religious, prayer can be a healing practice that helps you to align yourself with the universe or a force bigger than yourself. It personally find it quite freeing to take time to bathe under the moon and I use the lunar phases as a guide to help me feel more grounded and at peace.
EFT/Tapping
The Emotional Freedom Technique is a perfect tool for altering your mindset at a time like this where there is so much uncertainty and fear. I have been tapping for years and it is always helpful when it comes to managing anxiety. Download the free Tapping Solution app if you don’t know how to do this technique- it is easy to learn and is very effective at reducing stress. Search for Brad Yates on Youtube and he offer you some COVID-19 tapping scripts. Examples of what you could tap on right now might be:
Even though I feel panicked and helpless about this Corona Virus…
Even though I feel uncertain…
Even though I’m worried and concerned….
Even though it seems like the economy is going to collapse….
.... I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Yoga
Yoga provides so many health benefits, and it's also wonderful for your emotional well-being. It has been a crucial part of my life for two decades! The practice of yoga allows you to strategically and mindfully move your body into poses, each with a specific purpose. It also incorporates controlled breathing techniques and balance into the mix. All of this comes together to help provide advantages like mindfulness, awareness, resilience, decreased stress, and improved general well-being.
By focusing your mind on the moment and combining deep breaths with purposeful movement, you'll experience a calming effect similar to those that come from meditation. Both activities allow you to shut out the world, harness your thoughts, live in the moment, and gain a sense of composure.
These effects go far beyond the yoga session. You'll notice you feel calmer, with increased clarity of mind, throughout your day. You'll be able to make better decisions and bounce back from obstacles more readily. Yoga is a transformative practice that affects all areas of your life.
Journaling
Journaling allows you to take all the thoughts that are swirling around in your mind and put them on paper so they are easier to process. There are a lot of benefits to this activity that can lead to greater peace of mind and tranquillity.
The key to making this work, though, is to do it on a regular basis. Making a habit of writing helps you to prevent the overwhelming thoughts from overcoming you, thus keeping some stress at bay. It also lets you see these thoughts in front of you. By removing them from your brain and bringing them to the forefront, you can gain better perspective and begin to see patterns from which you can make inferences.
There are lots of ways you can journal. It all depends on your personality, creativity, and preference. You may wish to free-write and jot down whatever's on your mind for five minutes at a time. Perhaps you want to start with a prompt that guides your writing for the day on a particular subject. A brain dump is a great way to simply write down all the random thoughts that are in your head as a means of gaining some clarity. I make journaling a part of my morning and evening routine every day- I spend 15 minutes using the pages from the My Unstoppable Life Journal to guide my journaling practice.
Regardless of the method you choose in your writing, patterns will undoubtedly begin to emerge. You'll start to see where your main worries and problems lie. You can then begin the process of brainstorming solutions to those issues in a way that you couldn't when everything was just a jumbled mess in your head.
Get Moving
Exercise offers so many benefits when it comes to lowering stress. It actually releases feel-good chemicals like endorphins. It also gives you a new perspective, especially if you find yourself out in nature for your exercise. But heading to the gym is a great way to get yourself out among people and to leave your worries at home or at the office. Not to mention the added bonus of how much energy you'll have after you engage in some physical activity and the confidence you'll gain as you begin to see your body transform.
Look for Community
It’s normal to feel sad, stressed, confused, scared or angry during a crisis as we are in now and this is when having a community or network of people you can count on is a true blessing in life that can provide you with a host of wonderful benefits. A support network can benefit your emotional and physical health in a number of ways. Connection is a necessary part of the human experience. Having close ties lets you feel less alone. The people who are close to you can alleviate emotional burden by providing you encouragement and support when it's most needed. Plus, they're also a lot of fun. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends and family, especially if you are feeling particularly stressed- it is important to know you are not alone and that there are people in your life to support you.
I have a community of like-minded lunar-lovers who connect on Zoom in circle every New and Full Moon- I’d love for you to join us in The Moon Membership if that’s your jam!
Deep Breathing
A simple focused breathing exercise can truly calm you in a hurry. Just take a deep breath in as you push your diaphragm out. You should feel your stomach expand. Hold that for up to 10 seconds, then exhale, feeling your stomach flatten. Repeat ten times. This cleansing exercise can be done on the spot when you're feeling anxious and is incredibly effective in lessening anxiety or stress.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the state of living in and appreciating the moment. When you find yourself in this state, you gain a sense of calm and control that extends into other aspects of your life. Meditation, yoga, and other such spiritual practices are great for helping you to push away scattered thoughts and to concentrate on the here and now. You'll find yourself feeling more centered, less frazzled, and ready to take on life's obstacles after a mindfulness exercise.
Form Healthy Habits & Routines
Some people might think that habits are boring. They may prefer living on the edge or being spontaneous. That's all well and good, but there is a lot to be said for routine. Instilling a schedule or routine into your life can benefit you in a lot of ways. By knowing what to anticipate, you'll be giving yourself a sense of security to an extent. While we can't anticipate every obstacle, having a plan in place sets a nice framework for the day. It also eliminates having to think on the run, allowing your mind to rest a bit. Forming habits can be a great way to take the edge off and add some calm to your life.
Listen to Music
Music has power. It can make you feel any number of emotions. Don't underestimate this tool for helping to put you in a particular frame of mind. If you're feeling particularly frenzied after a hectic day turn on some tunes and feel yourself feel instantly transformed. Apple Music and Spotify both have plenty of playlists where you can find collated music for every mood. Music is life.
Consider Your Diet
Food is the fuel of your body. It plays a huge impact on how you feel. Many of us forget this fact. If you've found yourself particularly run down lately, some changes in your daily menu might help you to feel better. Switch out some of your unhealthier snacks for tasty, but good-for-you-versions. Crowd out the unhealthier options for fruit or veggies for a big impact on your energy and how you feel. This will also help you to build a strong immune system and have a healthy body to fight any viruses coming your way.
Sleep More
Getting more sleep is always recommended if you've been skimping on your z's. Waking up refreshed means a lot when it comes to having a good day. Poor sleep has been shown to have a significant negative effect on how people function. It can make us cranky, less productive, and unhappy. It can mean our body doesn’t have time to recuperate and recover and it lowers our body’s immune capacity. Try to implement a regular routine in order to get your body used to it. This may take time, along with trial and error, but the results will be well worth it.
Essential Oils
Using therapeutic grade essential oils on a daily basis helps to instill a feeling of calm and can ground us and help us to relax as well as sleep better. I am always rolling Adaptiv on my wrists, diffusing Vetiver and Lavender and use Balance to stay calm and confident.
Try Supplements
Adding supplements to your diet can help manage stress. Sometimes we simply don't get enough of the nutrients we need in our diets. In particular, B-complex vitamins such as B-6 or B-12 are known for improving mood. Vitamin C is good because it helps to balance your body's stress response. Magnesium is known as the relaxation mineral, and zinc is good for zapping stress as well. I swear by the doTERRA Long Life Vitality supplements for all my daily vitamin and mineral needs.
Control Your Environment
Your environment plays such a role on how you feel. If you want to add more calm to your life, start with your immediate surroundings. Fill your space with soothing colours like blue or peaceful pink. Add a scented candle and dim the lights to set the mood. Put some potted plants into your home to create a soothing environment. Remember what music can do for a setting and add your favourite quiet tunes. Soon you'll have an oasis that will soothe your senses and take you away and make you feel in control despite the chaos around you.
Sunshine
I have long been a proponent of getting a daily dose of sunshine. It is impossible not to feel good after a 15 minute sun bathe, where the rays touch your face and your head and the backs of your hands. It fills you up with Vitamin D which helps your body to function efficiently and those UV rays boost your serotonin levels (the happy hormone).
Have Fun
Don't forget the benefits of play. Schedule some fun into your life if you find yourself feeling nothing but overwhelmed. It can be something you do with friends or even by yourself, just as long as it's enjoyable. Play and leisure time allow your mind to work in less strenuous ways. It's good for your mood, outlook, and your health. So even though things seem serious and threatening right now, if we can play and have a laugh, it will help to lighten the load and make a serous situation seem a little less so.
Prioritise
Plan your day and prioritise what's most important to be sure you're getting the crucial stuff done. I like to create TMIs (Three Most Important) things to focus on at the start of each day to eliminate overwhelm (find these in my journal!). Taking care to focus on these things will provide you with a sense of security, accomplishment, and peace. You won't have awful deadlines looming over your head, and you'll know you've gotten the tough stuff out of the way and lets you work more efficiently and proactively. It's a great feeling to take control in this way.
Cuddle
A really big stress reliever many people don't know about is the therapeutic effects of touch. Whether it's just a casual hug or an intimate snuggle, touch can have a tremendous impact on how you feel. Physical contact releases oxytocin, a feel-good chemical naturally produced in your body. It also lowers cortisol, known as the stress hormone. Your blood pressure and heart rate will both be reduced as a result. Heart hugs, where you connect your hearts with another person is delicious. The physical benefits are real, so go hug a friend and family member today!
These are all some of the best ways I know to unwind and let go of stress and minimise the feelings of anxiety. They're easy to do. Most take few, if any, resources. They can be employed on-the-spot and result in a quick sense of calm.
There is no doubt that staying calm with the way the world today is not easy.
The trick is to remember there are ways that we make it easier for ourselves. Once you begin to implement some of these practices regularly, they'll become a routine part of your life- now and well beyond when COVID-19 poses a threat to our well-being- which you can use anytime things become too chaotic.
I also shared some of these thoughts in a Facebook Live video which you can watch here:
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