Coping With Self Isolation and Anxiety

Coping with isolation and feelings of loneliness is difficult at any time especially with anxiety. Older generations might deal with the difficulties of isolation every day. For many of us isolation is a relatively new experience and one that might be going on for some time. Families might not be able to spend as much time together and older family members might feel more vulnerable. There are a number of practical steps you can take yourself to help yourself which we have outlined below as well as professional help available online. 

Blog Post Summary

• How online therapy can help with self isolation?
• How to cope with self isolation?
• Who is your therapist?
• What to expect from anxiety therapy
• Anxiety therapy benefits
• Experience of anxiety therapy
• Anxiety therapies we use
• Anxiety Therapy FAQ's

Online Therapy Can Help with Feelings of Anxiety

Taking practical steps can be immeasurably helpful when you experience anxiety. However in some cases you might be experiencing an underlying difficulty with anxiety like general anxiety disorder. During anxious times anxiety levels can be ramped up to intolerable levels. If you are experiencing anxiety please contact me for virtual therapy or online counselling for anxiety. We offer virtual counselling on Skype and Facetime so you do not need to leave your home. Download our online counselling and therapy PDF here.

How to Cope with Self Isolation and Anxiety?

During the recent covid-19 pandemic we had less contact with people and may have found ourselves having to self isolate. This sometimes worsened some mental health conditions. Mental health conditions specifically PTSD might also make us feel like isolating ourselves from other people. There are some practical steps which can help us cope in a better way when managing a mental health condition like anxiety.

Social Contact

Part of self isolation means having to limit social contact through social distancing. Trips to the local pub or to the local sports centre or gym are now no longer options. When we spend less time with people we might turn more inwards. Although self reflection is an important part of healthy functioning too much introspection can become unhealthy. The advent of technology has enabled us to communicate with other people via video link through Skype, Facetime, or Zoom. Never has this been as important as now during the Coronavirus lockdown. Use technology to maintain relationships with people you may ordinarily see face to face. Social media is also helpful for keeping in contact with your friends and family however try to avoid scaremongering posts which do not have a factual basis.

The News

The news is a resource that we should use sparingly. At a time of crisis the news can become our main focus of attention. It tells us what is going on and it can give us crucial information concerning our safety. This is especially true regarding the Coronavirus. Unfortunately watching the news can also be triggering and ramp up our anxiety levels. Feeling anxiety and stress at a time like this is normal! Your nervous system is on alert to try and keep yourself safe. It is important however to limit the amount of news you watch. For a less stressful way of taking in the news you can try reading an app or limiting the amount of news you watch to half an hour.

Looking After Yourself (SEN)

Looking after yourself in basic terms is always important but becomes even more so when we are going through difficult times. Doing the basics well gives you something to do and helps you to value and nurture yourself. This is helpful for your mental and physical health.

Sleep is very important for mental and physical health. Even if you no longer have to get up for work the following day try to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern with good sleep hygiene. Go to bed early and get up early. Keep the bedroom as a technology free zone and use a wind down routine prior to trying to get to sleep. This might include some relaxed stretching, yoga moves, washing your feet, dimming lights and relaxed slow abdominal breathing.