Even if you haven’t been directly affected by COVID-19, it’s likely that the pandemic has still taken a toll on your health. Daily life during COVID-19 is a mental health minefield, as many simple decisions must be weighed carefully to remain safe and healthy. As a result, you might struggle with the anxiety of indecision, which may manifest overly cautious or overly high-risk behavior.
Unfortunately, anxiety doesn’t make people great decision-makers. With the holidays coming at a peak time for both anxiety and coronavirus risk factors, you may need to check in with your decision-making process to ensure you’re doing what’s right for your physical and mental health.
Accept What You Cannot Control
It’s easy to let your mind spiral out of control with negative thoughts—one worry might lead to another and then another. This type of thinking may lead to fear of doing any activity outside of the house, or it could lead to reckless behavior because you feel like so much is out of your control as it is. However, it’s important to separate what you can and cannot change in any given situation. For example, you cannot control whether strangers wear masks in public places, but you can ask friends to wear masks when you visit them and wear one yourself.
Avoid Quick Decision-Making
When you are faced with decisions about holiday travel, family gatherings, and other stress-inducing topics, take a breather before making your decision. If you let your anxiety guide your decision-making, you’re likely to feel uncomfortable as the results of those decisions unfold. Instead, take a break with a walk or talk to a level-headed friend. Then, reapproach the issue at hand with a calmer, clearer mind.
Managing your mental health isn’t something you must do alone. Help is available with teletherapy and telepsychiatry visits from MeMD. We’ll help you connect with a mental health professional in as few as 24 hours.
