By Ali Sokolow, LMHC, Counselor at PRO Medical
In society the past month, it is easy to feel more anxiety than usual. We are facing a situation that hasn’t been present in the world for many years. It can be easy to feel more anxious and panic because of all the information we see and hear.
Anxiety can lead to a number of health related issues and in kids it could potentially lead to them acting out behaviourally. With the stay at home order in effect, being at home can contribute to feelings of little control.
However, there is a lot we can control, and it starts with establishing anchor points in our days and then building a routine. We may not be able to control the virus, but we can control our actions by staying at home as much as we can, keeping our families safe and developing a new routine and predictable schedule.
Regardless of the state of the world, we still have anchor points we can identify and use to build a predictable routine. These are concrete parts of our day that rarely change. Examples of these might be waking up for the day, meals and other daily tasks.
It is important to first identify those structured parts of our day and then create routine around them. For example, if we have a goal for ourselves or for our kids, we can complete those tasks after a meal time. This action will also help families that want to reduce anxiety by creating more predictability for their kids. By coming up with family goals together and structured times to complete tasks, that will help give them control in their day. To summarize, the current state of the world is something we can’t control, but by establishing more order in our routines could result in reducing anxiety and feeling more in control.
For more support, schedule 1:1 with a counselor at PRO Medical.
Ali is a cognitive behaviorist in therapeutic orientation, which means that she concentrates on dealing with thought processes and behaviors. Cognitive Therapy consists of defining problems, understanding relevant history, and designing interventions to alter behaviors, feelings, attitudes, or thought patterns.
