Six tips to confront and conquer your fear of COVID

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”― Viktor E. Frankl

Arjun, his spouse Ramya, Mother Lakshmi and daughter Sonia were a well networked family and had got their first jab of vaccination. Ramya complained of sore throat, body pain continuing over two days, Arjun immediately shifted his mother to his sister’s house in the same city and within a week Ramya and Sonia too    tested  positive for COVID. They were quite worried that Raju their neighbor, family friend for ten years passed  away due to complications of COVID.  Arjun got time off from his office, took good care of his spouse and daughter. They recovered in fifteen days with home isolation, constant supervision of doctors and a strong support system of friends and relatives  

The mind is a superb instrument that can be harnessed to our benefit but used wrongly it can conquer you. We do not use our mind wrongly; it uses us all the time. We believe that you are your mind. But sometimes this is a false belief and the instrument has taken over you.

Let us understand the origin and purpose of fear.

Origin of fear - It comes in many forms’ uneasiness, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension, phobia and so on. This kind of fear is always based on something that might happen. not something that is happening now. You are here and now, while the mind is in the future. An apprehension of the future troubles you and is always ringing in your mind.  This creates anxiety which will becomes your constant companion.

Purpose of fear - It is to alert you to danger. Don’t react immediately. Take your time to understand whether the danger is real or imagined, based on current events, or anticipated future events. Decide whether you must act, or retreat speak or observe.

Working through fear- At various stages in your life different issues concerns you. Often you feel a mixture of concerns. However, the dynamics of fear will always be the same that you will be anticipating, loss of job, life, power/esteem, illness, loneliness-  creates helplessness in the present. 

Consider making the simple comment- Thought of COVID makes you feel uncomfortable. Let us understand your fears.

Fear of loss of Job because of lock down Losing any job can be emotionally wracking. Doing so in the current environment of heighted uncertainty can add additional stress. You have a future only when you are true to yourself. Have a clear notion of your strength and be open to your heart. Understand your strengths and areas of improvement. Let your fear of losing a job help you to prepare you to win and stay on the field during the struggle. Be humble and don’t shirk from the field of battle, if you have assessed your strength you will have many alternatives which you can start preparing yourself for immediately.

Fear of getting infected - Let the fear of getting infected push you to take care of yourself. Accept that you cannot eliminate yourself from getting infected, but you can certainly minimize the risk. Understand the sources of infection practice social distancing norms, use facial masks, avoid using lifts, avoid public places. Start identifying the source of infection and build your mental immunity.

Fear of new strains of virus, vaccination hesitancy – The Virus strain has mutations that increase transmission, and helps the virus evade the body’s immune response. Vaccine hesitancy usually involves mistrust of vaccine benefit, worries about future unknown effects, and preferences for natural immunity. Respect your individuality and have no apprehension of being mocked in adhering to the truth perceived by you.  

Fear of isolation–People undergo immense stress worrying about the infection and passing it on the others. There are a good number of families relocating from metros to tier 2& 3 cities, people are missing their friends and  trusted relationships that were built over decades.  It is a challenge to make new friends after you attain a certain age. Children are having online classes for schooling for more than a year  and are unable to spend face time with their friends, teachers. They are getting irritated of being locked in the houses and parents are having challenges.  At the bottom of this fear is the dread of loneliness of being unlovable.  Let the fear of isolation inspire you to find the self you love, relate to, and enjoy being with. Become a person you do not mind being alone with.

Fear of hospitalization, –Accept that you cannot be taken care of in your house/living place. Hence moving to a hospital is a step to revive your life again. You can overcome fear not by pushing it out of the way but by moving right through it, being aware as you do that you are afraid, but by doing what you ought to do.

Fear of passing away  – There is a feeling of loss of security if something happens to our parents, partner, friends, children. We imagine the worst that can happen to us and this limits our creativity and growth. This also means that you have not lived your full life. Let this fear motivate you to examine your true worth and to have a dream of your own life, let it help you value the moment, act on it, and live on it.

Fear of absence of support systems during mourning - The suddenness of death is followed by rituals which give consolation to certain people, but now even this is being denied. In the current situation you are not able to bid farewell to your loved ones, you are denied a closure and the healing process suffers.

Confronting fears -Analyzing your fears and coming to understand your fears are challenging but worthy tasks. Such an analysis won’t be completed overnight, but the more you learn about your feeling’s day by day, the closer you’ll come to emotional freedom. While you’re working on this lifelong effort, there are practical ways of managing your fear and minimizing its harmful effects in your everyday life.

Let us look at six coping mechanism for confronting and conquering your COVID fears.

1 Feel the fear- Determine what it is you fear losing, do what you can do to prevent it and move on. The phases of significant growth are accomplished with some fear. Not finding happiness is the high price to pay for the dubious comfort of avoiding being afraid. Fear is your signal, no one else will hear it so on one can be expected to care. It is your responsibility to respond and therefore you are the only one who can take care of yourself.  

2 Admit it – Let go your sense of control and just go with the flow taking things as they come and go. Most fears are momentary, and it will improve over time. Recognizing when you feel better is crucial. The moment you admit you’re feeling better, you’ll get a surge of confidence and feel even better.

3 Practice pranayama - The stress of not knowing what the future holds, what is yet to come is what makes you anxious. It causes a restless state of mind, insomnia, digestive issues, skin problems and so on. Quieting the mind can then help deal with this issue. Pranayama -breathing practices that help prolong the breath, is an effective practice to help calm the mind. It can lower stress levels and regulate other important bodily processes.

4 Create daily rituals -The more you go about your routine activities enjoying your office work, household, parental activities, exercise, hobbies the greater the chance that your body and mind will respond with the exact behaviors each time. Developing rituals however simple  help in attending the tasks and decrease likelihood that fear will bother you. The more your body is involved, in the normal activity the more comfortable you will feel.

 5 Stay connected– Remember that you are not alone everyone is in a sort of survival mode Give yourself a purpose for life – children, spouse, parents, friends, professional colleagues, cousins, neighbors-   and keep striving for building healthy relationships. Identify your friends and share your feelings with them. Sometime if feeling overtake you it is important to cry out instead of being hopeless.

6 Be brave – Be spontaneous so that the emotions that you express are current, immediate, and direct. State what you feel, don’t be afraid of differing with others, don’t hold back or hold on, face the fear, and get going. Postpone quitting in the face of fear, keep doing what you were doing, and it’ll pass. Do yourself a favor by assuming the best, remember that you are fine, and nothing is going to happen.

Road ahead

Confronting and conquering the fears of COVID is like running a marathon.  Don’t be afraid of being outside your comfort zone and don’t put too much emphasis on getting immediate results. Keep time for entertainment, express your gratitude to family, friends and healthcare workers and move on.