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. Symonds works with adults and children who have a wide range of conditions such as anxiety, depression, and OCD.

Dr. 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. 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. 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. Symonds describes some mindset techniques to help with this.

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 wellbeing
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]

Links

Find Dr. Anna Symonds online

Follow Dr. Symonds on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Elysian Psychology

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063: How to deal with anxiety during uncertain times w/ Dr Anna Symonds

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