How to deal with anxiety during uncertain times

An interview with Dr. Anna Symonds

With the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, life is full of uncertainty. This causes a lot of anxiety which is a real mental health burden. Being a freelancer right now adds another layer of unpredictability. To assist in navigating these unprecedented times, I’ve brought on a special guest to help us make sense of our concerns.

Today, I’m talking with Dr. Anna Symonds, a clinical psychologist with Elysian Psychology in Nottinghamshire, UK. She is registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and Chartered with the British Psychological Society. Dr. Anna Symonds works with adults and children who have a wide range of conditions such as anxiety, depression, and OCD.

Dr. Anna Symonds shares some tips for dealing with uncertainty. Flexibility and adaptability are important parts of this. As freelancers, many of us have already honed these traits. Dr. Anna Symonds explains how we can tap into these inner resources to cope with the ups and downs going on.

There is so much anxiety-provoking uncertainty now. Dr. Anna Symonds recommends focusing on the things we still have control over. This may be a good time to ground yourself by starting a project you’ve been putting off. Also, don’t forget that you can still control your thoughts. Dr. Anna Symonds describes some mindset techniques to help with this.

Has the situation with coronavirus led to new personal or professional reflections? Let’s chat about it in the comments on the episode page!

Subscribe To The Podcast

In this episode

Tips for handling stress around job uncertainty
Focusing on what we can control and sitting with our feelings
Why it’s more important than ever to avoid making social comparisons
How to stop catastrophizing and put things back into perspective
Dealing with the concerns we have for our loved ones
Resources to seek out if you’re concerned about your mental well-being
Using this time for much-needed self-reflection

Quotes

“We have to get ourselves to a position of acceptance that, from one day to the next, we’re not going to know how we feel. Maybe from one hour to the next. But being okay with that and not fighting it is hugely important.” [3:40]

“It’s almost like a grief process really. You have to sit with the emotions that come up. There’s no running away from them.” [7:15]

“Our thoughts can be very powerful. But be careful not to believe your thoughts. We have about 80,000 thoughts a day. I’d say that 90 percent of mine are a load of rubbish.” [16:00]

“This is a big trigger for lots of things. Things that maybe we pushed down or not thought about for the last few years. Suddenly everything is coming up to the surface partly because we have time, but also because we’re all so triggered.” [25:37]

Thanks for Listening!

To share your thoughts:

Leave a note in the comment section below.
Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

To help out the show:

Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help.
Subscribe on iTunes.

Podcast music licensed by Big Waves

sonosanctus.com

dankoch.net

Some of the links above are affiliate links. Basically, this means that if you decide to make a purchase through one of these links, we will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. You can be sure that we would recommend these products whether or not we made any commission on them. Please don’t spend your money on them if you don’t think that they will truly help you improve your business, although, in our experience, they will.

← Previous Next →