As I was driving home tonight I watched the distant storm clouds and thought about all those hard hit both in North Texas and Oklahoma by the recent tornadoes. I was also surprised by my own feelings of anxiety seeing the dark clouds looming. I remembered last week rushing home after dinner out to the sound of storm sirens wailing and the radio saying there was a tornado in Oak Cliff, I remembered sitting in the auditorium at work for 3 hours last spring because there was a tornado making its way around our neighborhood. It got me thinking how this time of year can cause so much fear and anxiety for so many.
The fear and anxiety are almost palpable as I scroll through Facebook and see message after message of thoughts, prayers and concerns, and as I watch the news coverage sharing videos and images from the destruction left behind. We live in a world where we exert control over so much of our lives, yet Mother Nature is a force that we, as mere humans, cannot control. This can be a terrifying thing.
Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy answer to dealing with anxiety whether we are talking about storms, fires, earthquakes or other traumatic events we’ve experienced. Here are a couple of ways you might be able to ease your anxiety, whether it’s based on natural disasters or other traumatic events you’ve experienced.
1. Practice realistic, helpful and true self-talk. What we say to ourselves truly matters. When it comes to dealing with anxiety our thoughts often work against us. If your thoughts don’t have the above 3 characteristic all together then they need to be changed. You can decide what you will think so make it realistic, helpful and true. If you can practice this consistently then you will begin to see your feelings of fear and anxiety lessen.
2. Practice grounding skills. Grounding skills are activities that engage our both our mind and body on neutral or soothing things. When our feelings of anxiety begin to escalate, we need to get healthy distance from them to prevent continued escalation and loss of control. Some simple forms of grounding are to count, describe the room around you, list your favorite things or run hot/cold water over your hands. This gets you out of your fearful thoughts and feelings.
3. Practice hope. Hope is one of the most powerful human emotions we can experience. Hope helps us move forward despite the tragic and awful experiences we may have suffered. As I mentioned, I was scrolling FB and could almost feel the fear and anxiety but I also saw and felt so much love and hope expressed. People offering prayers to those unknown and donating money and time to help rebuild homes. In the midst of heartbreak, tragedy and fear, hope can sustain us. Hope does not mean we don’t grieve, it does not mean we don’t hurt, it does not mean we don’t feel anger and it does not mean that we don’t question. Hope says things will not always be like this, this can and will get better, I will survive this and be stronger as a result.
Our thoughts and our prayers go out to all those who are hurting and anxious tonight.
