Take care of yourself to be able to take care of others.
We can support other people when we ourselves are stable.
Stress is the body’s natural response to unusual circumstances. In a short period of time, arousal helps to cope with the threat. The negative effects of stress are associated with prolonged states of arousal and lasting mobilization.
Pay some attention to how you feel. Bodily sensations will be your evaluation criteria.
Start with the perception of weight. In a state of severe stress the sensation of weight becomes very imprecise (when raising your hand for example, or feeling the weight of the body on the chair – can you really feel the weight?)
Observe your breath
You may notice that you talk abruptly
The tempo of your speech. If it is faster than usual, that is a clear sign of arousal.
The tone of your voice. Is this your ordinary voice, or has it changed from regular? Maybe you notice that you are speaking a bit too loud?
How to deal with the situation of severe lasting stress?
If you are not limited in movement, walk more. It helps to ground yourself up, feel yourself more rooted in the moment.
Switch off the news and social networks. Watch the minimum. Once or twice a day, only the information that’s important for you.
If you’re supposed to stay home (quarantine) – do the work with your hands. Anything from caring for plants to embroidery. When I start feeling that I am all in the air I work with the wood and do something simple. Works that demand fine motor skills help to center and calm yourself down.
Tidy up, organize what’s next to you.
Perhaps you have long been planning to clean the closet. Take care of this. Would it be good to iron the shirts?
If you like cooking, cook something that is not too complicated, though not too simple. Something that is of certain interest for you. Pay attention to the nuances.
People often eat to cope with arousal. Eating is an effective way to ground yourself up, but certainly not the friendliest for your body.
Choose one or two people you trust the most, those likely to be more resilient than you. Talk to them, ask how they cope with a difficult situation, share your ways. Contact those in your family who are away from you. Find out how they are doing. Call a couple of your friends in other cities.
When communicating, do not blame others for what is happening. Even if there is someone to blame, better think about what you can do.
A sense of humor is an essential criterion for your resilience. A healthy sense of humor and the ability to laugh, primarily, at yourself.
Remember: to support others, you yourself need to be stable enough.
Modern body-oriented psychology associates the capacity to cope with the stress with these three qualities: the ability to be in a grounded state, the ability to center, and the ability to manage boundaries.