4 steps to remaining calm in a storm

I don’t want this post to be solely about this, but we can’t ignore it, so I’m going to say it: there’s a major virus that’s going around right now and it sucks. The world is being impacted in a lot of different ways, and our personal lives are suffering from it too. A lot of people have to stay home, there are a lot of speculations going around, rumors are being spread like Nutella and a lot of people are starting to freak out. In this social climate, it can be extremely hard to remain calm. When a situation is impacting so many people, massive waves start to form and it’s almost impossible not to get swept away. As humans, we rely on others a lot, especially when it comes to crisis situations. When we’re unsure of what to do next, we look at how others behave. If they’re freaking out, we naturally start to freak out as well. If they’re buying toilet paper, we buy toilet paper. And that’s okay; we’re just turning the survival mode on. However, at some point it becomes too much and we need to come up for air. We need to swim out of that wave and recenter.

But that’s easier said than done, right?

In this post, I’m guiding you through 4 steps to remaining calm in the midst of a major storm, whether that is a social storm, an environmental one or a mental storm. These tips will help ease anxiety, find inner peace and focus on your own personal situation instead of being carried away by others.

1. Know Your Own Truth
The first thing to do is to acknowledge your own reality. What is happening in your life? How is your own life being impacted by the storm? What do you have right now, and what do you need? Quiet down the external noise and tune in with yourself. It’s hard to ignore others, but sometimes you just have to, because in their frenzy, they might drown you. So take a look inside yourself and assess your personal situation. You can write down your personal needs if that helps. For example, I know that right now, I am safe and I am still in a position to work, and I try to be grateful for that every single day. Right now, I need to trust myself and I need a lot of sleep (for some reason). This is not about ignoring everything else that is going on around you, but about catering to your own needs in order to show up as the best version of yourself in these trying times. And also avoid freaking out.

2. Build a Solid Self-care Routine
The key-word here is routine. Self-Care is important, but it needs to happen frequently, especially if you’re going through something very demanding. Have a calming routine that you can use at the end of the day or whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed. A good self-care routine should include elements that make you feel at peace – no matter what that is. It can be to take a bath, meditate, cook, do physical activity… Find what makes you feel aligned with your true self. Setting time aside for these activities should become a healthy habit, even when you feel like things are going well – but especially when sh*t is hitting the fan. If you need some inspiration to build your own self-care routine, check out my Self-care Routine After a Long Day.

3. Do What You Can
Inactivity is never good for the mental or the anxiety. In the middle of a storm, the worst thing to do is to sit and let your panicking side (we all have one, don’t we?) take over. Whenever it feels like everything is going wrong, I try to figure out what I could realistically do to help the situation (I’m a really big list maker, so I usually make a list) and I select the one task that seems the most urgent or the easiest to do under the circumstances. And I go from there. Sometimes it means only doing one tiny chore in a day. But all these tiny chores add up and it keeps you from going stir-crazy. Moreover, breaking down the problem in smaller tasks makes it seem a lot less overwhelming. It’s something that we’re often taught as kids but that we tend to forget as we become adults, because we can do more. We want to do it all; we want to fix everything right away (I’m definitely guilty of that). Focusing on one thing at a time breaks that pattern and if the opposite is happening and you can’t seem to find the courage to move through the storm, it gives you an accessible place to start.

4. Exteriorize
Major events trigger major emotions. If we keep it inside, we start to feel like boiling kettles, ready to explode (I say that, but I really hope that kettles can’t explode). Expressing these emotions or intense thoughts can be so simple, and it can do so much for your mental health; it helps you make sense of these emotions, it gets them off your chest, it can help you connect with others who are experiencing something similar, etc. There are many ways to express how you feel. The most obvious one is talking it out, with a friend, a mental health professional, or somebody that you trust. But not everyone is able to do that and, to be honest, it doesn’t work for everyone. Another great way to exteriorize is to create, by painting, drawing, writing… No matter what you do, the important thing is to have a space where you can safely let out what is building up inside of you. Sometimes you can even pull out a lesson or decrypt a message that your body is sending you.

I hope these tips can help you find your inner peace in the midst of everything that is going on right now. We all have different situations and we’re all individuals with different circumstances, but let’s not forget that we’re also a huge community. No matter what you’re going through, you’re not alone. Reach out if you need, help others if you can. And take care of yourself. There’s a quote by Timber Hawkeye that I love and that I find myself going back to constantly these days:

“You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”

Much love,