The fear and uncertainty fueled by the COVID-19 crisis is putting extreme pressure on our finite resources. The consequences result in poor decision making, breakdown, and burnout.
We are dealing with two contagions — the virus itself and the emotions it generates.
Unfortunately, when we feel most threatened, it’s our survival self that rushes to our defence — reactively, impulsively, haphazardly, and often counter-productively.
In survival mode, our vision narrows to the threat, and our pre-frontal cortex progressively shuts down. Reactivity replaces deliberation. Threat can help mobilize our attention, but when it comes to solving complex problems that have multiple variables, we need our highest cognitive resources.
So how can we take better care of ourselves and build more resilience?
✅ A good place to start is becoming aware of our different selves, the childlike self, overwhelmed self, the adult self and the survival self.
✅ Cultivating the capacity to observe our emotions, rather than being run by them. Simply naming our feelings gives us more distance from them, especially when they’re intensely negative.
✅ Calm yourself, regardless of what’s going on around you. A simple but powerful way is to use your breath. By breathing in through your nose to a count of three and out through your mouth to a count of six, it’s possible to clear your bloodstream of cortisol — the most pernicious stress hormone — in as little as one minute.
✅ Movement is also helpful. A burst of jumping jacks, or running up and downstairs, is a rapid, reliable way to discharge stress and quiet the body and mind.
Once you feel calmer and more able to reflect, it’s possible to step into your adult self.
By putting our adult self back in charge, it’s possible to move from an enveloping experience of anxiety and fear to a calmer place in which we’re able to hold and contain our most vulnerable self, so it no longer feels overwhelmed.
Rather than catastrophizing about the COVID-19 crisis, we can tap into our adult self, deliberately choosing to focus on what we have the power to influence and letting go of the rest.
Source: Havard business review
Robert Ikwue is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO @ The Quintrix Group.
