Below, Alan talks about positive thinking and how you can practice gratitude.
Category: Anxiety
Coping with anxiety during Covid-19
Anxiety can occur when we are faced with a threat. In the current climate of threat and uncertainty, anxiety is a completely understandable response.
While we can’t change the situation, there are things that we can do to help manage the feelings of anxiety.
Ask Jigsaw: Coping with Coronavirus health anxiety
How to cope with health anxiety? I’m always such a hypochondriac, and I regularly experience bad anxiety over symptoms I convince myself I have. With Coronavirus rampant at the moment, I’m feeling worse than ever. I’m not sleeping and my mind is constantly on whether I’m coughing or if I’m feeling a bit warmer than usual. Honestly just feeling so scared and drained, I really don’t know how to cope :/
Hi,
You are not on your own with feeling anxious about Covid-19. It’s hard to switch off from the news and information about escalating rates of infection. It is natural to turn our attention to ourselves and our loved ones. We may worry about getting sick, particularly if we have previously been anxious about our health.
Ask Jigsaw: Scrolling for Coronavirus information
I am finding it really difficult to stop scrolling on my phone cos I need information about what’s going on. I want to take a break, but I don’t want to miss out on any updates. Plus I want to stay in touch with my friends, but that can be drama too. Some of them are freaking out and some just think the whole thing is a joke and are going out anyway. I don’t know whether to just turn my phone off altogether or how do I limit it?
-Starfish
Hello Starfish,
A lot of young people joining the Jigsaw online group chat are also noticing a change in what they’re seeing on their phone, and how it’s affecting them. There is a direct link between the time we spend online and our mental health.
Watch: Realising it’s not just me
Lauren is a 20 year old health and social care student from Clondalkin.
When her anger and anxiety started to impact on her life Lauren decided to go to a Jigsaw service for support. However, she worried what people around her would think. Once she started telling her family and friends about her mental health, Lauren realised ‘it’s not just me’. We all need help and support at different times. Here, Lauren talks about her experience of going to Jigsaw.
Adjusting to lockdown
Keith, 24, a Jigsaw volunteer gives his story: I am on lockdown with my parents. Unfortunately, there are no pets, except those on animal crossing.
It was hard at first, as my daily routine has completely changed, along with just having to adjust to the current circumstances.
However, over the weeks we’ve been in lockdown, several things that have popped up, which I have definitely incorporated into my new daily routine. One of which is the time I’m spending by myself. I’m learning a lot about myself and what my resilience levels are like at the moment which is actually quite liberating. Another great thing that has come from this is the amount of time I’m spending with my family nowadays.
Coronavirus and mental health
During this global pandemic the recommendation is social distancing and staying safe. There is also a lot of focus on mental health.
Looking after your mental health is always important. But with Coronavirus spreading, we now face more and different challenges to our wellbeing.
Some of the stressors that we now face include:
- Uncertainty about the future
- Loss of routine
- Fear of catching Coronavirus
- Isolation from social distancing
- Losing loved ones
- Spread of misinformation
- Worry about the actions of others
- Boredom.
It’s unrealistic to think that the current situation won’t affect most of us in some way. We might be experiencing feelings of stress right now, or feel slightly numb or immune to it. However, the more we pay attention to our emotional and psychological needs the easier it will be to get through this turbulent time.
Keep what works
Minding our mental health does not mean we do lots of new stuff. We need to change the things that have worked previously to our new situation. Think about what helped your mental health before. Find ways to incorporate them into your new regime. Watch 5-a-day for mental health here.
Strategies for managing mental health can be adapted for now. Read more about:
Watch: Five-a-day in the time of Coronavirus
Ask Jigsaw: Obsessed with calorie counting
Hey, not sure if this is relevant so please feel free to ignore if there are better questions.
How do you know when you’re ‘bad enough’? I know that everyone says no problem is too small, but I can’t help but feel that if I seek help somewhere that I’d be taking the spot away from someone else who is more in need.
Over the past year, I’ve gotten super obsessed with counting my calories; restricting and then ‘binging’ (not really large amounts of food, just more than I think I should be eating) as a result, occasionally using other methods like appetite suppressants and laxatives to compensate. However, I don’t think that it’s serious as I’m not under weight or over weight yet, so I don’t think I have an eating disorder?
Not sure what I should do, I’d really appreciate an insight, as the new year is making me feel like there’s more I should be doing to be skinnier etc.
Thank you so much x
-Sershxo
Hi Sershxo,
Many people who have come to Jigsaw have worried that their problem isn’t ‘bad enough’ or that others need or deserve the support more. It is very difficult to compare problems, as there are usually so many different factors at play, including the issue or issues, the coping resources someone has, what is going on around them etc. Rather than thinking about other people who may access a service, it is more helpful to think about your own needs.
Read Your Mind project
We all learn about ourselves and how to get through life in different ways.
Talking to a family member, a friend or a health professional can help. Sometimes it can also be useful to find out for ourselves by reading a book.