Hala Khouri is a wellness expert and somatic therapist as well as a trauma-informed yoga teacher. She recently led an online webinar Anxiety Rx During Coronavirus. The webinar gave an overview of the basic physiology of stress and trauma, ways we personally deal with stress, provided some somatic tools to settle and calm the nervous system, and helped to understand how we might be adding to our own overwhelm without even realizing it.
She made it clear that the first step towards managing our anxiety is understanding how we specifically deal with these feelings as everyone’s experience is different. Next time you’re anxious take note on how it feels in your body, how you react to that feeling, and then be aware of both your healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms. This reflection is the foundation of managing one’s anxiety as it allows you to “know what you’re working with.”
This leads to figuring out when overwhelmed, are you an “off” person, an “on” person, or in some cases are you both? Someone considered to be an off person is one who may tend towards depression, shutting down, dissociation and experience feeling lethargic or slow. While an on person responds to anxiety with high arousal, panic attacks, the desire to be active and do things. Hala suggests not only paying attention to yourself but those closest to you that you may be with during quarantine. She warns, “now especially as we’re quarantined with others our coping strategies may clash together.” So by being reflective about yourself and your loved ones you can avoid further anxiety by preventing conflicts. Once you start to understand not only yourself but those around you – you can get grounded. And being grounded doesn’t necessarily mean feeling good or not impacted by the circumstances. It means you feel like you are able to manage what is difficult or uncomfortable. The goal is not to be overwhelmed, not to be perfect.
Perspective is also essential as we go through this crisis. Many are longing for the old days and wondering when we will bounce back to normal but Hala says, “my hope is that we don’t bounce back but that we are transformed.” This is an opportunity to grow through resilience. She defines resilience as the ability to recover from adversity, to bounce back, or be transformed by it. It can also refer to the confidence that one can handle difficult situations whenever they arise.
While it’s understood that due to quarantining and social distancing the media is where we’ll get all of our information, she stresses the need to curate your media exposure. The 24/7 non-stop news cycle is both a gift and a curse because we can get information as it evolves, moment-by-moment but then so many of us flood ourselves with things to worry about. She suggested we practice “media hygiene” and gives quick tips on how to do so: Try not to turn on the news first thing in the morning or right before bed, ask permission to talk about COVID-19 with friends, turn off all instant alerts, actively look for positive news, and humanize the headlines that you are seeing.
Of all the great tips, the last one that is so important to highlight is to be kind. Be kind to others because everyone is impacted by this and coping in their own way. This is why it’s important to know whether you and those you interact with are on or off people to avoid clashes and misunderstandings. But also be kind to yourself – Hala suggests that you take a breath and check in with yourself. Remember that you’re doing your best.
During a global crisis, you have to acknowledge that these are stressful and challenging times, and there is so much that we have to accept that we will not be in control of. Take these tips and tools from Hala and use them to help you and those around you stay as balanced and grounded as possible.
Flow with Hala Khouri in her donation-based LIVE-streamed yoga classes! See the class schedule here on her website.
