KANSAS CITY, Mo. — From restaurants to small businesses, families to education, and health care and the economy, there is precious little in life that COVID-19 has not impacted —including people's emotions.
Linda L. Moore, a licensed psychologist who owns her own business, has been exploring solutions for people feeling stressed and angry, frustrated and sad.
She said it begins with giving yourself permission to have those feelings.
"If you're having trouble navigating this, do not give yourself a hard time," Moore said.
Moore said the reopening of Kansas and Missouri raises a new level of concern because people are uncertain about what life will be like in the new reality of a COVID-19 world.
In her blog article, "The Virus Scare: Self Care in Stressful Times," Moore talked about the need for self care in these stressful times.
She explained that sharing your feelings helps reduce the mental and emotional burden of stress. If you are afraid to share your thoughts and emotions, Moore has a different strategy to get the same result.
"Put on paper what you're thinking and feeling, that you can't get yourself to say out loud and then see if writing it down releases the stress and the tension of it, and maybe you can talk to the person you need to talk to and if not, let them read it," Moore said.
With businesses closing and people losing their jobs, financial stress can trigger emotional anxiety and anger.
"If we've got limited resources this month, or the next two or three months, do we agree how to allocate those, and what the priorities are? And probably some arguments but differences are OK. Differences about what we should be doing are OK if we an get them out on the table and discuss them," Moore said.
Moore offered a list of suggestions to reduce tension at home:
- Have a daily schedule for everyone in the family to follow, which gives people a goal and improves communication.
- Exercise to burn calories and reduce stress. It's also a great way to relax and take your mind off your problems.
- Meditate using breathing exercises to learn to relax and quiet your mind.
- Have regular family meetings where everyone sits down together to share their feelings, problems and problem-solve together.
- Avoid using substances like drugs and alcohol to self-medicate and avoid dealing with the problems. Excessive use of drugs and alcohol only temporarily suppresses your feelings; eventually arguments will break out.
"Everybody has a different need and if they don't learn to express those different needs, like 'leave me alone,' or 'play with me,'
or 'pay attention to me,' then everything kind of explodes," Moore said.
If you get to the point that you're struggling to think or function normally, Moore said it's OK to call a mental health professional and ask them if it's time for you to come in and get help.
Moore is a nationally-known speaker and author with books about analyzing your stress and how to take charge of your life.
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