Coping with uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic

The first six months of this pandemic have been a time of discovery and change for me in all aspects of my life. I have learned that the mind is the strongest asset we have, and being able to control it can change your life. However, the pandemic is still here, and we are still suffering its consequences, such as working from home, self-isolation, lack of personal contact etc. 

While self-isolating at my friend’s house for two weeks, I overheard a training session she was attending about tips on how to cope with uncertainty, and how to support your teammates through the pandemic. It was very interesting, so I took some notes to share with all of you here.

There are three powerful strategies for coping with uncertainty that we can all apply in our daily lives: reframing your thoughts, taking control of your situation and taking care of yourself.

By Colton Sturgeon.

Let’s start with reframing your thoughts. This refers to the different ways in which you can order your thoughts, welcoming a different outlook on the situation. For example, we know that most of us are going to be working from home for the foreseeable future, and many people miss the office setting and hate working in an isolated environment. Therefore, thinking, “I hate working from home, and I don’t see it ending any time soon.” or “I hate working from home, but hopefully I only need to do it for the next three months.” makes a big difference to our mindset. 

We are able to choose the way we look at the current situation, and our emotions and feelings will follow this mindset. There are some things you can practise that may help you, such as giving yourself a pep talk in front of a mirror, writing a quote or a catch phrase that speaks to you on post-it notes and placing them around the house, or even playing a song you like that lifts your mood. 

In the midst of this pandemic, where we feel that we have very little control, these techniques, practised over time, will help you cope with the situation and keep a positive mindset. 

This leads us to the next strategy, taking control. Unfortunately, we have little control over the pandemic, but we can take charge of our own time and situation. Achieving a balance between life’s demands and your own resources is the key to feeling in control and avoiding burnout. In order to get to this middle point, you can increase the perception of resources, or mitigate the demands. One way to increase your own perception of resources would be to exercise self-advocacy and believe a bit more in yourself. Take note of past successes and use them as motivation, talk to someone you trust, refer to someone else’s experience that you can relate to or talk to yourself from someone else’s perspective. One way to apply this at work would be to ask for help or delegate tasks.

If, on the other hand, you would like to mitigate demands, look at the list of demands or expectations you have for yourself. Prioritise what is realistically important, and delay what is not critical. Sometimes, we try to overachieve with long to-do lists, only to feel disappointed when we don’t meet our own standards. A good prioritised to-do list, plus showing self-compassion, will make you feel more in control of your own time and more productive.

The third strategy is one you may already know. Taking care of yourself can seem like a cliché, but taking care of our body and mind is crucial to our wellbeing. This means not only eating and sleeping well, but also not being so hard on ourselves, forgiving ourselves and being hopeful for the future. I would specifically like to mention acceptance as a way of becoming a happier person. There are things we can’t change, and we may have to adapt to certain circumstances for a while, so it is best to not resist the inevitable, but try to accept it instead. This can give your mind the space and power to think of a solution to your situation. 

Putting all of these tips into practice at the same time can be a bit overwhelming. My advice would be to take it easy, see what speaks to you, try one or two and persevere practising them until they become a habit. 

“Bad news is that you can control nothing but your thoughts. 
Good news is that with your thoughts you can control everything else.”
Debasish Mridha