During the last couple of weeks many people have struggled with feelings of anxiety and imbalance as we are constantly adjusting to new requirements and realities of everyday life. During times as these, we all need some stability and ways to create a new sense of balance in order to stay mentally and emotionally well. Here are some ideas and tools that I hope will help you achieve some of that stability and balance. 

1. Consider your diet – your media diet: Staying up-to-date is important but in a world of media overload we are more likely to develop mental and emotional indigestion. A lot of the information on social media can be wrong and uninformed at best and sensationalistic at worst. Using a few trusted news outlets and information sources and using them once or twice a day can dramatically decrease anxiety. 
2. Consider what you have control over – and what you don’t: As the Serenity Prayer says: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. That last part, the wisdom to know the difference, is what helps with the anxiety. Do what you can to decrease the risk for yourself and those you love and care about: stay home, wash your hands well, avoid sick people, etc. Beyond that, allow yourself to continue living. Do things that you enjoy. Find ways to laugh and move. And focus on the things you can change in your life right now: from your work-out routine to the way you relate to your children; from your repertoire of dishes of the French cuisine to painting the garage; from learning Spanish to reading a couple of good novels; from meditation to exploring the depth of the question “Who am I anyway”. 
3. Stay active: Movement is proven to reduce stress and anxiety. So move. If you can’t go out because the crowds on the sidewalks make physical distancing difficult, find a yoga course online; do a dance-out with your friends on Skype (or with your kids in the living room 😊); do body-weight workouts; or learn TaiChi online.
4. Be creative: This actually has two meanings: 1. find new ways to do things that you love to do but currently can’t do – this may include finding ways to do sports (see above), to play with the kids, to prepare meals. 2. find creative activities. Creativity can absorb our minds into a timelessness that relieves emotional and mental pressure. Singing or playing an instrument, painting or doing crafts, sewing or woodworking all are activities that require our attention; and most of those activities can be done with others online – or at the open window, as so many videos from Italy have shown. 
5. Create a new routine: Routine gives us a sense of stability. For most of us, our usual routines are given through our environment: work hours, school schedules, rush hour traffic… With being at home, routines change; and for many of us, in the beginning that feels great. It’s like holidays. But without a routine, we can quickly feel untethered. Creating a routine that fits you and your life style can do both, make you feel more stabile and secure and allow you to make some changes to the everyday routines that most of us run unconsciously.

Of course there are more, practical things you can do to directly counter anxiety that is bubbling up: mindfulness practices, grounding exercises, deep breathing, etc. There are many wonderful tools out there in the virtual world. Depending on your own situation, you will need to find the tools that work best for you.

And that maybe the biggest learning right now: learning to explore and decide consciously what it is that we need. With a little more time on hand, maybe that can become one of the tasks of creating a new sense of balance: finding our own truth. I particularly like some of the exercises coming out of psychosynthesis to get this process started. Maybe there is an exercise in there for you.