 |
| Photo by Rick Hustead |
The
world as most of us knew it drastically changed since the Covid-19
virus proliferated around the world. In addition to worrying about how to
ensure personal health and that of our family, anxiety about job security in an
unstable economy and no set date for the end of quarantine to reduce spread of
the virus has become overwhelming. Following are some suggestions to help you reduce
and/or manage stress during the quarantine:
- Eat nutritious meals that contain protein. The desire to indulge in comfort food such as sweets and high-carb, savory treats is high right now. However, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. observed a strong correlation between low blood-sugar levels and hyper-suggestibility, which can lead to anxiety and the perception that you can’t control anything in your environment. Eating snacks or meals that contain protein (meat or plant-based) will help stabilize these levels so you can better handle stress.
- Get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep and irregular sleep patterns can really mess up our productivity and attitude about what is going on in our lives. Whenever possible, follow a similar waking, mealtime, exercise and sleep schedule as the one you followed before the quarantine.
- Square Breathe. When your temper and frustration start to rise, draw several slow, deep breaths. Inhale through your nose while visualizing that you are drawing from the universe an infinite amount of patience, calm and control. Hold that breath for four seconds and slowly exhale through your mouth while imagining that you are releasing stress/negative emotions. Repeat this exercise as needed.
- Limit alcohol and caffeine consumption. If you are already feeling stressed these substances are more likely to increase your annoyance, frustration or unhappiness than alleviate it.
- Remember…. It will be over soon. This quarantine will end. Meanwhile, think about the times you have dealt with what seemed at the time like impossible challenges to get to where you are right now. Can you utilize those same strategies to help you deal with this one, too?
- Hypnotherapy: Hypnosis and guided imagery are effective tools to facilitate relaxation and stress-management. In addition to using these tools to systematically desensitize you to anxiety/fear about the virus, while you are in hypnosis you can also rehearse how you will handle and reduce/manage the stress of living under quarantine in a productive way.
Special Offer!
Save 15 percent
on all a la carte (individual) phone and Skype hypnotherapy sessions,
including the 2-hour introductory First Session!
*This offer may
not be combined with other promotional discounts/session packages and is not
redeemable for cash. Offer expires on June 30, 2020
Sara
R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern
California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in
2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita,
California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2020
