These days, Singaporeans worry about many things.

“Will they ever find a vaccine or cure?”

"Is this social distance enough or will I be fined?”

"Will any one of us in the family be retrenched –will we able to meet our financial obligations?”

Worry is what happens when we are fixated with fears, negative thoughts, uncertain outcomes or things that could go wrong. A healthy dose of worry stimulates our mind, prompts us to get into a thought process of finding a solution for a situation or to simply take actions.

When Worrying Becomes Bad

However, worrying can get out of control, causing us to be constantly overwhelmed with negative thoughts and excessive fears, as well as develop unconscious and uncontrollable physiological reactions. For example, when our worry over the viral infection gets excessive, we might unconsciously develop a habit of compulsive hand washing regime, which eventually may cause chapped, raw or even bleeding hands. Our compulsive hand washing can even lead to drastic lifestyle change which we are unaware of, such as rejecting all social visits and panic shopping (and hoarding) of liquid soaps and hand sanitisers.  

Anxiety becomes an issue when we have difficulties coping with the various high emotions, negative thoughts and physiological symptoms – leading to a sense of helplessness, hopelessness, frustrations, fear and insecurity therefore affecting our family life and impairing our bio-psycho-social functioning.

So, when anxiety gives us a sense of loss of control, or being stuck in a hopeless situation, or even leading us to a full-blown panic attack, we have to slow down, do some reflection and manage our anxiety better.

Relax and Stay Connected

There are many relaxation techniques that can help us manage our anxiety. We can try deep breathing exercises and focus on the present moment. Go for a leisure walk, meditate or practice Yoga to take our mind off the negative thoughts. Additionally, we can seek for counselling help and advice too.

In this trying time of the pandemic, we urge everyone to stay connected with our friends and loved ones despite the social distancing measures. Call a friend or relative and have a deep conversation with him or her. We can also send a snail mail to ask about them. We can become a good listener for our friends and loved ones too and help keep a lookout for anyone with anxiety issues and guide them out of it. 

While we may not be able to change the situation we are in, we can definitely dictate how we want to respond by living each day meaningfully and purposefully. Let’s all stay level-minded, hopeful and adapt well to the COVID-19 situation.

By Yan Zhu & Lina

Counsellors of Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing, Tsao Foundation

The 4 Powers for the New Normal - Hua Mei Centre for Successful Ageing, Tsao Foundation

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of St. John's Home for Elderly Persons.
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