Coronavirus stress/anxiety

So with all this Coroavirus stress I've notice an increase in my symptoms. My question is how do I handle this?
1. Do I take some time and feel how the anxiety is affecting me?
2. Do I try to take my mind off the anxiety and focus on calming myself down?
3. Or do something else entirely?

Thanks, Mike

 

I just try not to obsess about it and I mostly stay home. I try to avoid places where I'm close to others and my kids schools are closed but there's no point in panicking. I could have it right now and not even know it so what can I do? Basically I try to let go rather doing anything specific.

 

Hello Mike,

Have a look at this post which I just created because it contains some helpful, healing links:

https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/pain-anxiety-and-the-coronavirus.22630/#post-116783 (Pain, anxiety and the Coronavirus)

 

Turn off the TV and go about your life as best you can. This too shall pass.

 

Hey Mike46

I think #1 and #2 are your best option. As TMSers it is always important to admit to ourselves as much as we can. Even though our unconscious is unconscious, we can send it messages... one is "I don't need your help with a symptom distraction and I can deal with this myself"... this might require a quiet time of refelction

Then, once I've done that I try to get away into other endeavors. Trolling the internet got me ANGRY last night.... time to read/play guitar/chase my dog. Even Sarno said the daily reminders shouldn't turn into a ritual. 15 minutes a day was sufficient. Since TMS is unconscious , limiting our access to redundant bad news is a good idea, as we can't stop our unconscious from soaking up the crud.

peace

 

Appreciate the advice!

 

I definitely feel the increase in anxiety. Knowing that my obsessive personality can lead to all kinds of problems, I did three things:
1. Increased the time I spend outdoors
2. Increased exercise (which in my case is same as #1, as I am a hiker and a runner)
3. Signed up for the meditation class, which luckily to us was not cancelled but moved to online setting via Zoom after the lockdown started.

Actually, I did more than that. Because my job functions include some assistance with emergency preparedness and response to coronavirus, I found myself doing much better when I can do something useful to help with the situation. Productive work, as it has done it before, helps me.

Each of the above is very helpful and makes me less worried.

 

I say do all 3, but stay away from social media because there are a lot of negative news in there. do some yoga and think of something that would make you feel ralxed

 

I started taking a class on Kum Nye - Tibetan yoga. It is a very strange yoga for a newcomer and it takes some adjustment, but the effect is amazing. It is more of a meditation than yoga, with focus on breathing. All the movements are very, very slow but generate a lot of body heat. I highly recommend,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898004217/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

sweetheart, have a look at these resources. They will help.

https://www.calm.com/blog/take-a-deep-breath (Let’s meet this moment together — Calm Blog)

Also explore Claire Weekes. There are plenty of links on the wiki to her writings, audio clips and YouTube videos. A simple forum search should find them.

 

I watch 100 Humans show on Netflix before bedtime. It takes my mind off coronavirus and makes me laugh non-stop and I can sleep better after. Highly recommend.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80215997 (100 Humans | Netflix Official Site)

Unfortunately, they have only 8 episodes out, so I have to ration it!

 

Hey there, I have been TMS "symptom free" for quite some time, then the pandemic hit... ;( I came here today just to see how much this was affecting everyone else. The silly thing is that I'm not even particularly concerned about getting it, I'm young and healthy and know that my chances of only mild cold type symptoms from it are most likely, plus I'm doing all the social distancing and minimal contact stuff, washing hands all the time, etc, and I am able to work from home, I have a family but they are all at home too, we have almost no interaction with anyone these days except a weekly trip to get food. My TMS symptoms have basically exploded, and its jumping all around my body like never before. I don't even want to list all the different symptoms because I don't want to plant any ideas in other people's subconscious minds. Lets just say I'm in terrible pain right now, I feel like I dealt with it very well at first, I laughed it off, tried my best not to let it distract me, ignored it, worked through it, told my mind it didn't need to create this pain and that I was dealing with these threats. This seemed to be working, symptoms were going away as fast as the were showing up, but the latest pain is in a new location for me, and its more intense than any of the others, and my usual "mind tricks" don't seem to be working. I was able to distract myself for about 30 minutes while I worked on a hobby I enjoy, and had no pain at that time, but it was a rare glimmer of solice, the pain is right back now. I've tried peaceful walks in the woods, exercise, so far can't shake this one. Its interfering with my sleep, I could not fall asleep until after 2AM last night, and was tossing and turning all night waking up in pain. This is so brutal right now. Just here for the support. I know what you guys are going through. We got this though. I am going to try "laughter therapy" tonight as recommended above!

 

I could really relate to several things you said, so I pulled them out.


I don't pretend to have the answers, and defer to others with longer-term experience.

BUT, I think your situation carries a ton of hope right along with it!


Think of it this way:

You were symptom free for a good amount of time. Your mind/body wasn't able to distract with these ridiculous symptoms during that time.


The symptoms are jumping all over your body now only because they aren't fully working; individual symptoms are not distracting you, not grabbing your attention.

If back pain or leg pain was enough to distract you, the symptom(s) would stick and stop there. Instead the pain goes from something like back to leg to hip to foot to maybe then skin issues or headaches etc. etc...Toss in some GI issues because, why not, right?! It's utterly ridiculous. Imagine taking that laundry list of symptoms to a doctor?


This latest new pain spot may have taken a small foothold, but don't let it.



"Darkness before the dawn" is a phrase that I like and go back to a lot. The worst pain is right before the symptoms disappear. The jumping around your body is a desperate attempt at distraction from emotional/unconscious stuff.


I'm writing all this because I've been right where you are. I'm so grateful I'm doing well right now. But, the truth is there's still a lingering part of me that worries about the next relapse I might have (I've had a lot.) The last relapse I had I jumped on that Saturday call they offer here (the drop-in chat) and hearing others was all I needed. The symptoms went away that afternoon.


Be well....Hang in there!! You'll get through this.

 

Thanks so much for the encouragement, and YOU WERE RIGHT. I'm now 100% symptom free again! Persistence in using "the usual tricks" payed off, it took several days, but each day the pain was reduced until it was gone. The teachings from this forum really work, and I'm glad we can support one another and help other people out there in the same boat (there are millions out there that don't even know TMS is their problem).

For me (and others) it especially seems to help when I am almost "confrontational" to the pain, like "OK brain, I'm good now, I see why you did this, but now it isn't necessary, you can stop making this pain now, I know its being generated by you, and to prove this, lets do 20 pushups and 10 pull ups despite the shoulder pain. Haha, how do you like them apples? how about throwing a kid on my (achy) back and doing "horsey" all around the house? Wonder how the hip pain will respond to some intense sprinting outside? "

It's always nice when you can laugh about it after the fact. Exercise also lowers stress levels.

 

Yes, It helps a lot to not thinking about coronavirus when watching on Netflix even for a couple of hours you will be entertained finding yourself smiling in these crucial times.