“Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.”
– Napoleon Hill
Not long ago a client messaged me, saying, “Ilze, my boyfriend’s family has tested positive for Covid. I feel overwhelmed.”
While my client did know people who had contracted Covid, this was the first time people very close to her had contracted it.
This was the first time she had come into direct contact with Covid.
This is what I said to her: “Guard your mind against fear. Remind yourself that there is a recovery rate of 92%, and focus on how many people have come through this victoriously. Remember, you’re nervous because you’re only seeing the negative — the fear and danger. You’re not seeing the positive — the high recovery rate.”
I also advised my client to practice her breathing exercises to calm down the anxiety.
When my client scheduled a consult with me later that week, we worked on dissolving her two fears (as anxiety is a compounded fear):
- Contracting Covid
- Passing on Covid to her family
To neutralize her unbalanced perception (that Covid is ONLY negative), I explained to her that there are TWO sides to every situation — the negative and positive — and asked her to identify the benefits (positives) of her contracting Covid.
As she listed them, she soon saw that Covid could also be positive a thing:
- It would allow her to sleep for as long as she wanted to without anyone accusing her of being lazy.
- She could use the quarantine period to read and binge-watch her favourite series.
- Once she had Covid, she wouldn’t have to worry about contracting it again for the next few months.
I then asked my client to identify the benefits of her mother and brother contracting Covid.
Once she could see that Covid would also benefit these two special people in her life, her anxiety subsided.
She also saw that she had made Covid much bigger than it was (especially when neither she nor her family had any symptoms of Covid).
When we make things much bigger than they are, that is when the fear starts to overwhelm us.
It is so easy to give in to fear, guilt, and the feeling of not having control.
Once we feed these feelings, we breed more of them and increase their intensity.
That is why it is so important to guard the mind against fearful thoughts.
If you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed about Covid or anything else in your life, I invite you to reach out to me by email at ilze@ilzealberts.com or WhatsApp.
I would love to connect with you on a free call to discuss how I can help you.
I want to remind you that we are all in this together and that it is okay to ask for help whenever you are feeling challenged.
From my heart to yours,
Ilze
