Feeling overwhelmed by the news?

I’ve had a lot of messages and conversations with people who are feeling anxious due to the news of the war in Ukraine. It’s an awful time for those who are impacted directly and for those who feel helpless watching the news.

For a lot of us we were already in a heightened state. As we’re still dealing with the additional stress that the pandemic has brought, it takes less to tip us into panic. We also have our own personal histories that seeing violence and threat might trigger a stress response. Here are some simple tips to gain more autonomy in how we look after ourselves.

Check what you can actually do - make sure the sources are reliable. An anxious feeling in our body wants us to take action in some way.

Notice anxious responses in your body:

physical - it could range from headaches, tightness in your chest, upset stomach, fatigue

emotional - low patience, poor concentration, mood swings, low motivation, catastrophising

Reduce unhelpful responses to stress - scrolling, repeated viewing of the news, drinking, disordered eating (too much or too little). These behaviours have a positive intention behind them - often to distract us from uncomfortable feelings. What would feel more helpful?

Choose to release or soothe anxiety. To complete the stress response we need to either expel the excess adrenaline in our system or calm ourselves down.

Release - exercise, jumping, stomping, shaking your arms and legs, dancing.

Soothe - there are so many resources here on My Wellness Hub breathing, havening, relaxing hypnosis mp3.

Mindfulness - the practice of bringing your attention back to the present moment. Listen to some recordings here.

I hope these tips are helpful. If you’d like some support - please get in touch. You can email hello@sianquipp.com or book a coaching call.