???? UKRAINE: HOW TO HELP, HOW TO AVOID THE ANXIETY SPIRAL ??

OVER the weekend, I wrote about Ukraine over on my Facebook page. I'd been wondering what I could possibly share that might be of use, rather than simply leaping onto the proverbial bandwagon, so I decided to sit with it before just covering my profile picture with a blue and yellow flag.

After hearing from so many people who were going into fear, others wondering how they might practically help, and seeing way too many people pushing commercially-produced 'pro-Ukraine' T-shirts with no charitable value, what to write about became clear.

I did as much research as I could into legitimate charities and organisations we could donate to, looked for real, on-the-ground information sources we could support, and wrote out some advice to help people who weren't directly affected by the war cope if they were falling into fear and anxiety.

From the response, and the number of shares my post started to generate, it became clear that I'd managed to tap into people's hearts and minds with my piece, so I'm sharing the same information here.

I hope it helps.

If you have additional ideas and resources to share, of course, please do add your links and advice in the comments - we need not only to #StandWithUkraine, but to stand in solidarity, for the good of all.

Here it is... thank you for reading and sharing.

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Right now, it’s to be expected that many of us will be turning our hearts and minds to some of the atrocities playing out in Ukraine.

Like so many of you, Asha and I have been watching aghast and wondering what we can do to help.

Already, we’ve donated to some organisations, including People in Need , OutRight Action International and Choose Love who are specifically helping those caught in the conflict.

There are plenty of other organisations who are accepting donations as well - hit up Google and do your research before choosing where to send your funds; there are so, so many options, so try to find an appeal that aligns with your values and supports people on the ground.

Global Citizen put together an article with links to a number of different organisations , and information on how to help in meaningful ways - you might find that helpful. READ IT HERE .

I’m sure many of you will be sharing our frustrations and wishing there was more we could practically do than send cash, but every little really will help.

For those who don’t have the means to donate, we can still help by sharing relevant information, and staying up to date with relevant sources; there are some English-speaking media outlets that have been keeping people up to date from Ukraine, including the The Kyiv Independent , The New Voice of Ukraine and Kyiv Post - many of these have journalists regularly updating their social channels.

#StandWithUkraine’s Instagram account is also worth following and supporting.

This, of course, is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are peace protests happening across the globe, which you can find out about HERE .

For those of you who want to do so, it never hurts to send good thoughts, prayers and well wishes. There are plenty out there who poo-poo this kind of ‘soft’ action, but if it helps you to feel as though you’re doing something, it sure as hell won’t hurt those going through it all those miles away. Asha and I have absolutely been doing this - working spiritually and energetically to call on all the ‘unseen’ resources we can.

Energy and mindset

Helping Ukraine aside, I want to really, strongly reinforce the importance of looking after our own energy and mindset.

I’m hearing from so many good people, living safely away from the areas of conflict, who are being negatively impacted by stress, fear and anxiety.

Please, please, take steps to keep yourselves emotionally and energetically safe through this. We won’t be much use to anyone if we allow ourselves to become trapped in the drama spiral and let our energy drain away needlessly.

Please, please, take steps to keep yourselves emotionally and energetically safe through this. We won’t be much use to anyone if we allow ourselves to become trapped in the drama spiral and let our energy drain away needlessly.

Here are some steps we can consciously take to keep ourselves in the best place we can:

?? 1) LIMIT YOUR NEWS AND SOCIAL SCROLLING

Check in daily if you want to, but beware being caught in the cycle of endlessly checking for updates. That’s not gonna help you, and it sure won’t help the people of Ukraine.

Limit your social media time too. ‘Doomscrolling’ ain’t gonna help.

?? 2) GET OUTDOORS

Go for a walk around the block. Get into your garden and do some stretches. Hell, even just open a window and remind yourself the sky’s still where it’s supposed to be and Grandfather Sun still rose. Get some fresh air. Get some perspective.

?? 3) WRITE IT ALL OUT

If it’s your thing, grab a pen and a notebook and do some journaling. It really can help to just get it all out of your mind and onto a page or several.

??♀? 4) BREAK YOUR STATE

Don’t sit in the anxiety. Try some breathing exercises. Meditate. Exercise. Dance around your living room. Just do SOMETHING to move OUT of the state that’s sucking your optimism dry.

There are some really simple CBT-style activities that can help to shift your mindset as well. Here’s one of my personal favourites:

1) Close your eyes and think of a colour.

2) Open your eyes, scan your surroundings and find five things around you in that colour. Can you find more? Go for 10,15?

3) When you’ve found them all, think of everything else you can name of that colour, regardless of whether it’s in the room with you. For instance, if you chose green: apples, limes, grass, leaves, my old car, a football pitch, the Grinch…

By the end of the exercise - maybe even before then - you should find you’ve started to shift your mindset and lifted your mood some.

Use it as often as you need to.

I hope this helps.

Like so many of you, Asha and I are standing with Ukraine and desperately hoping for some resolution soon.

#UnleashYourAwesome

Taz

Xx

#ukraine #anxiety #support #mentalhealth