Ways that reduced my anxiety in the midst of a global pandemic

Coping with anxiety might not be new to some, but it’s been a new, familiar villain in many people’s lives right now.

I’ll admit: I have never truly suffered from anxiety until the government shut downs from COVID-19 went into effect. The thought of not knowing when I could re-open my business again and how we would make ends meet set me on a path of better understanding of anxiety and how it festers.

Being stuck at home with 4 kids and not being able to meet up with friends and family was the icing on the isolation cake – and even as an introverted Mom, it greatly affected me in time.

As the saying goes, “the only thing that you can control is your attitude”, I took extra steps to take care of myself internally so I could provide a better home for my kids externally. I knew that everyone else was also suffering and that I needed to be my own white knight.

It wasn’t easy. And there were (and still are) days when I feel as if my life is pouring out of my hands like sand and there’s nothing that I can do about it. But, if it weren’t for actively trying to curb my anxiety, I know it could have been much worse.

Here are the things that I did (and still do!) to reduce my anxiety in the midst of a global pandemic – they are things that I will continue to do because they just work that good.

Focused on what I could control

When a pandemic strikes, there’s really not much that you can do about that, except how often you wash your hands and touch your face.

Besides doing my part in staying at home for the most of the time, I truly focused on what I COULD control – which is myself, my actions, my emotions, and what goes on inside my home.

I made it a daily goal to be present in my emotions and not let the current world situation get the best of me. Easier said than done, I know.

Here’s what I could control:

The tidiness level of my house
The meals that I cooked
How much screen time my kids could earn
Our daily at-home schedule
Being disciplined in my exercise regime
How much time I spent online & on social media
Our bedtime routine
Not letting little things get to me

At the end of the day, they only thing that you can truly control is your attitude, and that’s what makes all the difference.

Yes, I know how difficult things were and still are – this is coming from a girl who spent the first 5 years of her marriage living at her in-laws and couldn’t afford to buy food for her family.

But, you can either dwell in your unfortunate circumstances or make the best of them – even when you think it can’t get any worse.

Increased self-care time

I’ll admit, I’m a homebody as-is.

I homeschool my kids during the normal school year. I work from home. I spend my weekend at home playing video games with my husband.

So, when the poo hit the fan back in March and we were “forced” to stay home, it didn’t affect my lifestyle all too much. But, just because I was used to living this way the majority of the time doesn’t mean that this life change wasn’t difficult.

I am a flawed person, and a flawed Mother at that.

When I couldn’t leave the house with the kids on a whim to “get some fresh air”, things got hard. When I couldn’t just up and go to the store by myself after my husband got home from work, things got hard. When I couldn’t plan any play dates or girls nights with my friends to recharge my batteries, things got even harder.

So, I increased my self care as much as I could.

I kept up with my workouts. I took extra walks with the baby. I made myself a yummy lunch. I baked. I took baths when the kids went to bed. I drank more wine. I painted my nails. I played more video games.

Taking extra care of myself during those brutal months made all the difference and it really attributed to lowering my anxiety and helped me focus on getting through one day at a time.

Kept a good diet

It’s no secret: the better you eat, the better you feel.

And whenever I eat junk food or go on a binge, everything flares up. Bloating. Mood swings. Acne. Anxiety. You name it.

So I made it my mission to eat as best as I could (with the rations that we had stored). Sure, I also stress baked and made more fun meals, but I always made sure to eat my veggies and take my vitamins.

Drinking lots of water also helps.

Remained consistent with my workouts

I’ll admit, I am lucky that I have a home gym that’s easily accessible to me any day of the week – especially during a pandemic.

I didn’t want that “luck” to go to waste, so I made it my mission to stay consistent with my strength training. I knew that other people didn’t have that luxury, so I made the most of it.

I made new fitness goals, I started a new program, and I started counting my calories to keep myself accountable.

Not only did my body start to change as I sculpted more muscle and shed a little fat, but it helped my anxiety dwindle down to basically nothing. All the more reason to keep working out and pushing my body to the limits.

Kept a routine with the kids

I don’t need scientific studies to tell me that kids (and adults) do better with set routines.

Being a Mom of 4 and raising kids for over a decade, I have seen what a derailed schedule looks like. Poor diet. Too much TV. Car naps. Over-stimulation. You name it – any of these things will derail a kid faster than lightning.

And when a child is out of sorts, next comes Mom.

So, instead of letting the crumble of the world set the tone of our house, I ran an even tighter ship so we could all stay afloat.

This included early bedtimes, healthy meals, monitored screen time, and pre-planned “outings” (which meant walks around the neighborhood and nature hikes). When my kids knew what to expect, life was that much easier and kept my anxiety in check.

Took more photos

While I couldn’t meet up with any of my photography clients, I didn’t let that stop me from snapping photos every day. Quite the opposite, in fact. I used it as an opportunity to document MORE of my kid’s lives.

When I first started my photography journey, I liked to setup my kids in poses at neat locations with outfits that I hunted down for at thrift shops.

But when my kids stopped showing enthusiasm and the task of it all actually PEAKED my anxiety, I decided to take on more of a documentary role instead.

Now, I just grab my camera when they are doing something cute around the house or follow them around when they aren’t paying attention to me (which is often). It’s a stress-free approach to photography AND it also helps reduce my anxiety.

I call it ” Photogrotherapy” (not to be confused with phototheraphy).

Want to learn my stress-free way of capturing your kids? Check out this guide with lots of helpful tips and tricks!

Started at-home Phototherapy

This isn’t about taking pictures.

Phototherapy is a type of medical treatment that involves exposure to light (in which the light is transferred to energy) to treat certain medical conditions, including stress and anxiety.

In Chinese medicine, emotions are viewed as an integrated aspect of organ functions, and sometimes the root cause of disease.

The Western approach to treating depression and anxiety involve prescribing drugs. More natural minded approaches would include diet changes and herbal supplements. But, both of these approaches work on the BIOCHEMICAL LEVEL- and does not address the ENERGETIC component of this un-grounded and stagnant BIOENERGY in the body. Using, herbs, supplements, diet changes and drugs all take 3-6 weeks of implementation to actually see changes.

Traditionally in Chinese medicine, acupuncture with needles would be used once or twice a week for 3-6 months to help stabilize this flow of energy thru the body. But, new advances in technology means it is possible to stimulate points on the body continuously for 24 hours that achieve results within minutes and hours to GROUND and MOVE this stagnant energy – with phototherapy.

And you can do this at home, safely, without needles.

Once I started this new kind of treatment, I experienced IMMEDIATE results – I am talking within an hour. This technology is very scientific and advanced – you can learn more about how you can achieve the same results here.

All in all, the thing that helped me the most was deciding to remain positive.