6 keys to reduce Christmas anxiety in the middle of a pandemic

Tips for coping with and managing anxiety during a Christmas season marked by COVID.

It is normal to feel some anxiety at Christmas time, it is an intense period that includes both obligations and the desire to enjoy the traditional holidays and family.

The obligations that generate anxiety can be the preparations for these holidays such as buying gifts, visiting stores, organizing agendas with family and friends, etc. However, the anxiety described corresponds to an adaptive and normal anxiety.

It is important to note that anxiety itself, as an emotion, is necessary. We cannot live without anxiety even though it is always labeled as "something negative to be eliminated". Anxiety helps us to prepare ourselves for what we believe will happen, it helps us to face a future situation and therefore a certain level of anxiety is adaptive and necessary.

The problem arises when anxiety is high, harmful and maladaptive.. This type of maladaptive anxiety is disproportionate to the future situation that we believe is going to occur, i.e. we may value that something more negative is going to happen than the real probability of it happening and that we will not be able to cope with it. We value therefore that we do not have coping resources for what we believe is going to happen and therefore we begin to suffer in the present something that has not happened.

These symptoms can be accelerated breathing, increase of the cardiac frequency, pressure in the chest and sensation of suffocation or knot in the throat.

Maladaptive Anxiety this Christmas Season

The big difference this Christmas season compared to pre-pandemic times, is the increase in cases of maladaptive anxiety.. It is logical that it happens, after all, to an adaptive anxiety typical of Christmas is added a high anxiety as a result of the pandemic by the COVID. In the center of Psychology PsicoAlmería we are observing an increase of cases related to high and maladaptive anxiety in these dates.

This anxiety caused by the pandemic has as a consequence the increase of negative thoughts that condition us continuously. The most common may be those related to hypervigilance and fear of being infected or infecting someone close to us. And in relation to these Christmas dates, we may have doubts about whether to meet relatives or not because of the catastrophic consequences that may arise..

These thoughts involve compatible emotions, that is to say, when we have negative thoughts the emotions that arise are also those related to emotional discomfort such as anxiety.

And once we experience this symptomatology our behaviors will be aimed at reducing anxiety, although most of the time these behaviors usually do not work as we would like and cause us to increase our anxiety. Why? It is simple: we tend to perform avoidance and escape behaviors when faced with situations that make us anxious.In the short term, this works for us because we feel relief. But, in the long term the problem persists and the anxiety will return with more strength.

An example could be the following: If I meet my relatives for Christmas I might unknowingly infect someone and I would not be able to live with that (thinking), I feel bad at the thought of that happening (anxiety and anxiety-related symptoms), so I decide that I am not going to meet anyone (behavior and anxiety reduction).

In the short term you may feel good about making that decision, and the anxiety will have served a function. But in the long term you may continue to engage in avoidance behaviors (not to meet with anyone so as not to infect), and you will not attend to the needs that you still have, such as the need for contact with your family and friends. In this way you will increase more and more the maladaptive anxiety that subtracts you on a personal level when you stop doing things that are necessary and pleasant.

What can we do to reduce anxiety?

Here are some psychological keys or guidelines that will help you to face and reduce maladaptive anxiety.

1. Go to a professional

It is important not to neglect your mental health. If you are in a situation that causes you a lot of discomfort and high anxiety is beneficial to go to a psychologist.

Both the psychologist Verónica Valderrama Hernández and her team will help you to solve your maladaptive anxiety. Each person is different, and that is why it is important for them to make a proper assessment of the situation that worries you. that worries you. In this way they carry out an effective and adapted therapy to find your emotional well-being.

2. Internal dialogue How do you talk to yourself?

The internal dialogue is a technique that can help you in moments of anxiety. As we have mentioned before, thoughts trigger compatible emotions and behaviors.

If we believe that something negative and unpleasant is going to happen and we believe that we cannot cope with it, we will feel anxiety and our behavior will be compatible with that anxiety. A good option is a proper dialogue with yourself when those automatic and negative thoughts that trigger your anxiety arise..

Try initially to write down those recurring thoughts, and write down objective (more reality-focused) alternative thoughts next to them. The difference between automatic thoughts and rational thoughts is that the former tend to be shorter and more extreme and the latter more objective. These alternative thoughts that you are going to generate will be aimed at offering you more self-confidence. Once you have drafted them, it is as simple as using them and repeating them when the onset of your anxiety is triggered.

Consider the following: if you only have one thought, the chances of believing it will be high and you will suffer the consequences.. If you have more than one thought (the automatic one and the alternative one that you have created), your mind will not be able to assign as many probabilities to the negative thought because you are offering it different options or hypotheses of a future that you do not really know.

In the example of this Christmas holidays, it is not the same to think "if I stay I will infect a family member and he will die, better not to see the family", than to offer you this alternative thought: "I can postpone meeting with a family member who may be a risk group and meet with a limited number of people together with security measures".

Mindfulness

The practice of Mindfulness is very useful in cases of anxiety.It has been scientifically proven to bring benefits and advantages in this regard. Mindfulness both formal (with audios) and informal (learning to live in the here and now) will help you reduce maladaptive anxiety.

It's simple, think that anxiety keeps your mind occupied with worries that have not yet occurred, situations that you anticipate will occur. With anxiety it is like living in a negative future, finding yourself in an almost continuous state of alert.

Mindfulness allows you to live with full awareness, allowing you to live in the present.. Mindfulness is a skill that is trained, and you will be able to redirect your attention in real situations that are occurring, this will help you in times of anxiety. In PsicoAlmería you will find audios and videos to practice Mindfulness.

4. Patience

Anxiety does not disappear all at once, it is an emotion that lasts for a while, so you must be patient; little by little you will restore your well-being. Think that anxiety fulfills a survival function, your mind believes that it protects you by provoking it.Your mind believes that it protects you by provoking it (because anxiety is yours, your mind provokes it and your body suffers it).

You will gradually show your mind that it is okay to protect you as long as it is an adaptive anxiety to readjust the maladaptive anxiety.

5. Pleasant activities

When was the last time you did something for the first time? Take advantage and do something different, or do something you haven't done in a while. Try to join in things that make you feel good and in this way you will be able to move away from anxiety.

6. Social and family contact as much as possible.

Although we continue to maintain distance with family and acquaintances, do not move too far away from them.. If you gradually feel that you are becoming more and more distant, connect more with your important people, even if it is through technology. This is important in these Christmas holidays when it is tradition to be with our loved ones.

And finally, remember that when we feel bad we can go to mental health professionals who will help us and understand, as are the psychologists of PsicoAlmería.