Fear and anxiety in the time of Covid19

Photo by Tonik on Unsplash

I don't think I need to remind you that this year has been a crazy, scary ride. 


I had been feeling such a myriad of emotions during the shut down and then dealing with the fear of the reopening here in Upstate New York. I have really had to depend on my cards to get me through this time of discord and panic attack laden days, not only to occupy my mind during the long days of not being able to work but with keeping in touch with the rational side the cards present which keep me focused. 

But now that we are a few months in I am able to look back and see that there were some positives to the shut down as well.

1. I had time to finally develop this website which I have wanted to do for a few years.
2. I was able to be home and have a nice clean, organized house and have dinner ready for my family and felt no rushing or stress in doing it My son and husband were very essential during the shutdown so they were very happy about coming home to a comfortable space, a cup of coffee or dinner on the table. (And they didn't have to do any chores at home at all!)
3. I strengthened my meditation practice and reintroduced myself to energy medicine and EFT. 
4. It also reminded me how much I love doing massage therapy since I had to close down for months and missed it and my clients terribly. 

Can you look back and see if there were any good things that came out of this time? 

Now I know that so many people passed away and lost their jobs and I am not trying to downplay the heartache and sadness that happened and is still happening because I completely respect people's pain. 

But even in the darkness there is light.

Journaling the pain is a good way to identify how you are feeling and get it out of your head and on paper. But journaling the good is a great way to start seeing a different picture and what you focus on will grow, so why not try to focus on a happy memory during this time and jot those down. Gather up the good memories and enjoy them like your favorite treat. Let the first bite of each happy thought wash over you and savor each one. 

I pulled three cards to help us get through this time of total uncertainty with less stress and anxiety. 

How do we get through this time?  Three of Swords in reverse from the Golden Tarot deck

Three of Swords in reverse is telling us that we need to learn ways to deal with our inner sadness.  Whenever I see this card I know that "this too shall pass" but for now it is up to me to keep on top of those disaster thoughts. To try not to dwell in thoughts of catastrophe (as I am so good at doing). 

I feel that this card is also inviting us to allow and embrace our sadness or fear. We are allowed to feel our feelings and if we don't validate them and instead try to shove them down or try to ignore them they can fester and make us feel worse in the long run. Like the man on the card, allow yourself a good cry (that is a great way to let pent up energy out). Or maybe scream into a pillow, or call a good friend or therapist and have a long honest talk about how you feel. 

Perhaps you just need to give yourself a damn moment to feel all the feelings. Set a timer, and sit with them, allowing them to flow over you and imagine them draining into the ground underneath you and turn into sparkling energy for the earth. Breathe, and when the timer goes off gather a sense of gratitude in your heart area and set upon your day refreshed.  

What feeling can we focus on during this time? Embracing from the Soul Coaching Oracle Deck

Embracing is saying that if we don't try to flow with the things that are happening we will only cause ourselves greater suffering. This world is in a huge time of change and when we dig our heels in and try to avoid or oppose it will only make us feel worse.

A good strategy is to allow yourself to embrace the things you can change as well as the things you can't. We as humans (especially stressed out humans) are always trying to control everything and unfortunately that just isn't the way things work. Swimming upstream is difficult, slow and exhausting. 

Try to embrace your emotions as they come. Give them each a big hug and allow them to pass naturally. When we resist our thoughts they tend to create a greater hold on us as opposed to when we allow them and move on to whatever we were doing next.

Try to embrace the constant chaos, as the only constant in life IS change. If there is something that really triggers you stop for a moment and ask yourself why. If it is something you can not do anything about then move on. Remember that the media writes only of chaos so give yourself a break with all media.

Embrace that others will usually have a different view and opinion about things than you, and just because it is different does not make them wrong. We all come from a view through a lens created by our beliefs, experiences and the way we grew up. 

I think this is a time to embrace everyone and everything and stop feeling so divided. Next time someone triggers you or disagrees with you, why not try to find a common ground with them instead and talk about that instead. 

What do we need to know that we cannot see right now? Beyond the Ordinary from the Oracle of the 7 Energies Oracle Deck

I have to be honest, this card made me laugh! This deck is new out from Colette Baron-Reid and I am just getting to know it. I have to read the excerpt from the guidebook so you can understand the reason I had a good laugh about it......

"No matter how hard you try to understand why something happened or how or when it will happen, now is the time to surrender to the not knowing." 

And later in the paragraph....." Your job is to stay the course, allowing whatever comes to be exactly as it will, without trying to ascertain anything in advance."

Thank you Oracle of the 7 Energies! Maybe it is not our jobs to know why any of this happened. Maybe there are too many reasons to even explain why tragedies on this global level ever occur. Maybe it just so we can decide to get our heads out of our asses? A global wakeup? Maybe we will never really know, but that does not mean it can't haver personal meaning for each of us. 

This card goes so well with Embrace. Your job is to stay the course, embrace what is. Embrace the not knowing. Enjoy this time to watch the changes, good and bad. Embrace the surrender to the not knowing. Learning the art of surrendering  is one of the most freeing feelings when you finally come to terms with it.

Some people think that surrendering is giving up, but that is not so. Surrendering can do wonders for the anxiety sufferers that need control.  When we surrender we trust that something bigger than us is really in control and if we can just relax and ease into it what happens is typically better than we could have even wished for anyway. And I don't know about you, but I find that comforting. 

So acknowledge your fear and anxiety during this time, but hold it lightly, and remember the lessons of this reading to lead you into ease and acceptance.