A Call to Action in Trying Times
During these stressful and turbulent times I hear from clients and others in my life that it all feels overwhelming and they do not know what to do. Their anxiety has peaked and sleep is a thing of the past. They have all this anxious energy and are unsure what to do with it so it just rattles inside them until they start to shut down. My call to action to all my clients and friends with anxiety is to have ACTION.
Some may use this anxiety to spur panic actions that lead to more anxiety (guilty)! So to be more specific, I want these actions to be at least one of the following 2 things (but both is preferred). They need to be either SKILL building or COMMUNITY building actions. Reflect on your values to determine the issues that are most important to you and brainstorm ways you can participate or create actions that are skill building and/or community building.
These do not need to BIG actions. They can be small every day actions that help you recognize your sphere of control and help you create a community of people who share your values. A good example of this is learning to garden. Take things slow and use small steps even if it means starting with one small container in a kitchen window to grow your favorite herb. At the worst of times, this new skill can help feed yourself and build community as you share what you’ve learned with others. At the best of times, you’ve learned a new hobby that can provide self care and community as you share your cherry tomatoes with neighbors and provide food banks with fresh produce.
To my Perfectionism and OCD people, this does NOT mean you have to become the perfect gardener (or whatever skill you determine is best for you) and make the right choice in every step. As Kurt Vonnegut quoted “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you got all these wonderful experiences with different skills and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”
Our goal in these trying days with political upheaval and unknown future is to take our anxious energy and put it into ACTION. Whatever action helps you feel safe, recognize the control you have, and helps you build skills and communities.
