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Coronoavirus: How to Stay Calm in a Crisis

Sandra Pawula

Do you feel more stress, worry, and fear as the coronavirus infects more people and wreaks havoc on the economy?

Stress is a biological event that occurs automatically when you feel threatened.  It’s only human to feel stressed in the midst of a global pandemic.  Even those well practiced in stress reduction techniques have needed to take extra measures to get back to calm in the middle of this new coronavirus crisis.  

Like the experts, even if it takes a little more determination, you can learn to stress less even while in the midst of this worldwide uncertainty. And since your stress response will likely get triggered as new information is revealed, it will be useful to know how to bring yourself back to your zone of resilience. 

This is especially important now because worry never helps and chronic stress can impair the immune system, making you more vulnerable to physical disease and mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

I would like to share with you some of the attitudes I foster and steps I take to stay centered as much as possible each day. Some of these steps can also help you return to calm if you get pulled into a stress storm.

9 Ways to Stay Calm in the new Coronavirus Crisis

We’re all different. What works for me, may not work for you.

As you read through the list below, pay attention to your own body sensations and the whispers of your mind and heart.

If something resonates for you, you’ll feel it in a good way. You might feel lighter or suddenly notice you have a smile on your face. And if it doesn’t resonate, you’ll feel it too. Your jaw might clench or your stomach might tighten. Or you might just know, “This one will work for me.” Or, “No way!”

Only try the attitudes and practices that feel right for you.

1. Remind yourself: You can’t control the outcome.  

You can’t control the outcome of the coronavirus pandemic.  You can’t control what other people do or don’t do.  Worry, anxiety, and fear won’t make one bit of difference.  They only harm you by keeping you in a state of chronic arousal or plunging you into numbness or depression.

When stress starts to arise, remind yourself that you can’t control the outcome.

Instead, take whatever proactive steps you can to protect yourself and those close to you.  Focus on what you can do.  Taking positive action can reduce stress, and make you feel safer. 

2. Remember: Everything is impermanent.

When the unexpected and unwanted occurs, I immediately remind myself that everything is impermanent.  Expecting it to be otherwise is sheer insanity.  Anything I consider absolute and unchanging, isn’t.

“ Whatever is born is impermanent and is bound to die.

Whatever is stored up is impermanent and is bound to run out.

Whatever comes together is impermanent and is bound to come apart.

Whatever is built is impermanent and is bound to collapse.

Whatever rises up is impermanent and is bound to fall down.

So also, friendship and enmity, fortune and sorrow, good and evil, all the thoughts that run through your mind—everything is always changing.” 

- from The Words of My Perfect Teacher

Remembering this spiritual truth, brings me solace. It helps me move out of resistance, which only brings suffering, into a deeper acceptance of what is. 

This acceptance holds a bittersweet quality, after all people are suffering and some are dying.  And so remembering impermanence reminds me to love and appreciate the people who are present in my life right now.

3. Maintain your routines, especially calming ones.

Routines can relieve stress, increase calm, and decrease anxiety.   

Instead of jumping online to read the latest COVID-19 news as soon as you wake up, engage in calming routines.

I meditate, write in my journal, cuddle with my kitties, and organize my day in my planner.  Sometimes, I just listen to the sounds of nature outside my window.

Which routines help you stay centered?  Be sure to keep those calming routines in place now, when life feels unstable.  Or set up new routines to help you feel more centered and relaxed.  You might benefit from adding an evening routine, to shake off any anxiety you accumulated during the day.

4. Know and Use Your Resources

In the world of trauma, a resource is anything that helps soothe or settle you when you feel stressed or activated.  It can anchor you to the present moment and stop a downward spiral of anxiety or fear.

Resources can be external or internal.  

External resources involved a person, thing, or activity external to yourself.  Some examples of external resources:

  • Friends

  • Journaling

  • Yoga

  • A Touchstone

  • A Hot Water Bottle

  • A Stress Relief Practice

An internal resource resides within you, it doesn’t depend on anything external.  Some examples of internal resources:

  • An Attitude

  • Imagination

  • Gut instinct

  • Body Awareness

  • Curiosity

  • A Positive Memory

While it’s good to be self-sufficient, it’s important to have external resources too.  As the saying goes, no man (or woman) is an island.

Make a list of your own resources and post it in a visible place.  When you start to feel unsettled, use it as a reminder to access and use one of your resources. For example, call a friend or draw upon a positive memory that brings you a feeling of peace.

5. Limit your exposure to the news.

Reading too much news can seriously activate stress and fear.

You don’t need to read every single article about the status of COVID-19.  Instead, decide on 1-3 reliable sources and check them no more than once a day or even less if that’s what you need. 

If you’re highly sensitive, you might want to ask someone else to gently summarize the news for you instead of reading or listening to it yourself.

6. Express your emotions in a healthy way.

It’s normal to feel a range of emotions in response to a global crisis. It won’t help to overindulge in emotional drama, making a fearful emotional story bigger and bigger, but repressing your emotions can be harmful too.  

Instead, let your emotions come up, be aware of them, let them out, let them go. 

7.  Prepare yourself for whatever might unfold.

That doesn’t mean stockpile toilet paper, an action many people are taking because it helps them feel some sense of control in the midst of uncertainty and chaos.

What I mean is to think through the practicalities of your own situation, and then take appropriate proactive steps.

For example, do you have emergency instructions in place should you be hospitalized?  Who will take care of your children, your pets, or your home?   Do you have a will in place or an advanced healthcare directive?  If you’re struck with a severe form of COVID-19 and unsure you’ll recover, you’ll probably feel better knowing you’ve left clear instructions and have made provisions for your loved ones.

Taking care of the practical can lessen your stress and bring you more calm.

8.  Listen to inspiring teachings.

I love to listen to inspiring teachings. They bring me a much needed spiritual perspective in difficult times, which helps me to let go.  You can find an abundance of free teachings on YouTube.  

Of late, I’ve enjoyed listening to or reading Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle, and Ram Dass.  But right now, my focus is on a 12-week course called Smart Body, Smart Mind, specifically on healing trauma.  I especially resonate with Irene Lyon’s (the course author) approach to trauma and you can find tons of free videos on her YouTube channel.

9.  Hold your fingers.

According to the ancient art of Jin Shin Jyutsu, you can harmonize your emotions and nourish your body by holding each of your fingers in sequence.  This is a subtle yet powerful self-help approach I’ve personally used or many years.

Each finger is associated with an attitude or emotion - worry, fear, anger, sadness, or trying to (pretense) - which can imbalance a corresponding function and organ system via the subtle energy channels that invisibly course through your body.  And vice-versa, when a particular organ system functions at less than optimal, the corresponding emotion can be heightened.

You can find greater balance and thus more calm by holding each finger for a few minutes in succession each day.  The entire practice takes about 10-15 minutes.  I find this practice incredibly relaxing and it’s a great antidote to stress too

You can also hold a finger whenever a troubled emotion arises.  When anger, worry, or any other emotion appears, wherever you might be, hold the corresponding finger and breathe.

Parting Thoughts on Stress and the COVID-19 Crisis

It looks like we’ve in this for the long haul because we may not see the end of infections for some time and COVID-19 has impacted the economy dramatically.

I believe, in time, the world will recover from the novel Coronoavirus crisis. In the meantime, you’ll need to take conscious steps to keep your stress levels down.

There are many ways to care for yourself in stressful times.  These are a few of the ones that work for me. But you know yourself best.  Take a moment to make an inventory of the attitudes and practices that help you reduce stress, stay calm, or return to your center when you’ve been pulled away by fear or anxiety

Gather together your own personalized stress tool kit and use your self-care practices everyday.  The more you reconnect to your calm center, the more you’ll be able to be there for others too.

For more tips read:  

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Your Turn

How are you doing in the midst of this global crisis? What’s helping you stay calm? I would love to hear in the comments.

Thank you for your presence, I know your time is precious!  Don’t forget to  sign up for Wild Arisings, my twice monthly letters from the heart filled with insights, inspiration, and ideas to help you connect with and live from your truest self. 

You might also like to check out my  Living with Ease course or visit my Self-Care Shop. May you be happy, well, and safe – always.  With love, Sandra