We were just about to come to terms with Delta.
Then, before we could use up our Thanksgiving leftovers, a newer and potentially more transmissible variant of the coronavirus called Omicron became a household name. The fear spread, swept across the stock market and raised troubled questions: Is it still safe to fly? Can we attend Christmas parties? Wait a minute, has Christmas been canceled?
The first case of Omicron was reported in the United States on Wednesday. We’ll learn more in the coming weeks, but for now there’s little evidence that the variant can outsmart vaccines, and the World Health Organization has stressed that it’s not yet clear whether Omicron spreads more easily from person to person or causes more serious disease than others Variants.
The scientific understanding of the virus is constantly changing, and so is the virus itself. But we continue to search the horizon for an end point instead of accepting things as they are. As we continue to ride the pandemic roller coaster, we learn to deal with our unpredictable world is not only possible but also necessary.
“We fool ourselves as best we can into believing that we can control everything and know how things are going to play out,” said Dr. Mark Epstein. a New York City psychiatrist whose forthcoming book The Zen of Therapy examines how his training in Buddhism and meditation affects his work as a therapist. “If you can learn something from this, then the foundation of our reality is – and always has been – uncertainty.”
Dr. Epstein and other experts in psychology and mindfulness shared how we can live with the unknown while we encounter another variant.
Find your flow
Kate Sweeny, a A psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, who has studied feelings of insecurity for nearly 20 years, said activities that create “flow” can provide an “exquisite distraction,” a break from the constant fixation on us yourself and the world’s problems.
Flow – a concept popularized by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – usually occurs when you’re doing something meaningful and “in the zone,” explained Dr. Sweeny.
Unlike passive relaxation, such as watching a movie or listening to music, flow activities mix work and play and are so captivating that time seems to pass. It could be playing a video game (this has actually been researched), gardening, or yoga.
In a paper published in 2019, Dr. Sweeny and her colleagues three studies that tested whether activities that provide flow can improve people’s mental well-being while they wait for unsafe news. It turned out that creating Flow made waiting a little easier.
“Almost any activity can be a flow activity if you look out for some characteristics,” said Dr. Sweeny.
First of all, make sure that you are being challenged at the right level. If an activity is too easy, you will get bored.
Second, you should get feedback for your efforts. The feedback doesn’t have to come from a single person. For example, if you are working on a puzzle, you can clearly see your progress.
Third, set clear goals so that you can increase the challenge level as needed.
Try meditation
Meditation can help calm an agitated mind that swings from thought to thought, a state of mind Buddhists refer to as the “monkey mind,” said Tim Olmsted, who has practiced meditation for nearly 50 years and founder of the Pema Chodron Foundation.
The foundation is dedicated to sharing the teachings of Pema Chodron, a Buddhist teacher and nun. While Pema Chodron is best known for writing When Things Fall Apart, another book of hers, Comfortable With Uncertainty, originally published nearly 20 years ago, might be best applicable to the whiplash that we do just experience.
In it she wrote: “Holding on to uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to stay cool when the ground suddenly disappears below us.”
Meditation helps us deal with uncertainty by teaching us that while there will always be external stressors, we don’t need to be dominated by those problems, Olmsted said.
“We can still find resilience and peace,” he continued. “Paying attention to our mind – letting it rest and refresh – is actually the most consistent thing we can do.”
If you’ve never meditated before, there are plenty of resources to get you started, including meditation apps and meditation retreats.
The New York Times also published a meditation guide with tips on how to achieve “greater equanimity, acceptance, and joy” as well as a guide to becoming more mindful of distraction. The mindfulness guide is for children, but many of the tips are for people of all ages.
If possible, try to meditate at least 15 to 20 minutes a day for the most benefits, Mr. Olmsted added. Your mind can wander. It’s natural, so don’t judge yourself for it. Instead, gently return to your breathing and return to the present moment.
In this way, you can finally discover a calm. Mr. Olmsted has equated it with diving under roaring waves – the distractions on the surface of our minds – to explore the open, clear water below.
Focus on what you can control
When the world feels unpredictable, we can create a sense of security and security by following routines and focusing on the things we have some control over, said Barbara Greenberg, clinical psychologist in Fairfield County, Conn.
Vaccinating and freshening up, wearing a mask – especially in indoor public places – and frequent hand washing are all healthy choices you can make to reduce the possibility of infection.
But there are other things you can do to calm your mind, she said.
First, take stock of the conversations that increase your anxiety levels. If you feel overwhelmed, try gracefully changing the subject or getting in touch with someone who can help you make things more positive – someone who tends to be grounded and calm.
Some of her clients “are on a constant news diet,” she added, which often increases their anxiety and leads to insomnia. She recommends avoiding the news right before bed and relying on a trusted source or two.
Speaking of the bed, try to come up with a consistent sleep schedule. Researchers have found that people are more afraid when they are sleep deprived than when they are rested.
Planning activities will also add structure to your day. You could block out 30 minutes for exercise or an hour for reading a book. Or maybe you’re meeting up with a friend, going for a walk, or picking up an old hobby. The crucial part is to make time for this on your calendar.
“There is just a sense of power and agency,” said Dr. Greenberg.
We can’t prevent the virus from mutating, she added, “but we can control what we do at 10 a.m.”
