Dealing with Stress During COVID-19
Learn how to work with what you are feeling and the stress of COVID-19 with some practical tools. We each have a unique experience of how Coronavirus is affecting our emotional health and overall wellbeing, so in this important discussion, we talk to Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Amy Elliott, about dealing with stress during COVID-19.
You’ll hear why so many of us feel like this is a roller coaster of emotions full of ups and downs. Then you’ll get practical advice for how to thrive during this time instead of living with fear and anxiety. You’ll hear about the importance of breathing and how it signals our brain to calm down, and how to work with what we’re feeling. Remember, our feelings are never bad. It’s what we do with them that matters. Finally you’ll hear the positive things that clients have shared with Amy as a result of this time.
HELPFUL TECHNIQUES + TOOLS:
Practical things you can do behaviorally:
Create routines in this new normal. This could include: waking up at around the same time, getting dressed (even in comfortable clothes), get outside, set aside time for things you want to do like reading or gardening. Our bodies work well in rhythms.
Reach out to others.
Techniques to process your fear:
1. Notice what you’re feeling. (i.e. Fear, frustration, nervousness).
2. Figure out how you know what you feel. Determine where in your body your
3. Ask yourself, “What do I need?”
Ground yourself:
1. What do I see?
2. What do I smell?
3. What do I hear?
What to do if you’re afraid:
1. Confront the fear - ask, “Why am I afraid?”
2. Take inventory of what you can control and do those things.
3. Make the choice to let go of the things you can’t control.
Advice for various types of situations:
-If you’re living alone: Reach out to someone every single day. Whether it’s a phone call or seeing a neighbor across the street from a safe distance, recognize that we are designed for community biologically and neurologically. It’s also helpful to know this is a shared experience and we’re in it together. Limit interaction with anyone who stresses you out.
-If you’re experiencing a strained relationship due to close quarters: Take some time for yourself. Work with your partner and family to communicate expectations to create a shared and spoken understanding.
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ABOUT AMY ELLIOTT, LICENSED MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPIST
A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Amy provides counseling for individuals, couples, and families. She assists clients as they work through pain from the past, make sense of their current situations, and determine what they would like their future to be. She also helps couples in: preparing for marriage, strengthening marriages and families as they grow and change, and restoring hope in struggling relationships. Amy specializes in EMDR and works extensively with trauma, anxiety, and depression.
Amy graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Following a spiritual call, she obtained a Master’s degree in Theology from Andover Newton Theological Seminary. After more than a decade of working with high risk youth, families, and the systems serving them, Amy returned to graduate school and completed a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at San Diego State University. She has been practicing in the San Diego area ever since. Amy is a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).
Amy has a private practice in San Diego, California where she lives with her husband and two children.
Amy Elliott website: www.amyelliottcounseling.com
Amy Elliott email: [email protected]
Amy Elliott phone: 858-208-3250
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