Strategies for Calming the Coronavirus Chaos in Your Home – Interview with NextStep Providers

Even though more and more states are starting to re-open, it’s okay if you’re still feeling mixed emotions. Remember, it’s normal to feel a variety of feelings during a crisis. All of the events from the past few months have changed what is normal. Today, we are looking at various strategies for calming the chaos in your home.

In this post, we’ll cover:

• Strategies for reducing stress
• Tips for talking about the current pandemic with your children
• Mental health options during lockdown

We’ve interviewed several of the providers here at NextStep to help you gain insights into calming the coronavirus chaos in your home.

How can I help reduce stress levels in my children?

Stress can take a toll on your mental and physical health, but stress is tricky. It doesn’t always manifest in the same way. Some kids may become snippy when they’re stressed while others might withdraw. Regardless of how stress impacts your child, it’s important to help your children reduce those stress levels.

​Keri Knight, LCSW

Kids pick up on their parent’s stress. So if a parent is stressed out and worried, the child is more likely to feel stressed and worried. Sometimes the best way to manage a child’s stress is if the parent manages their own.

You can do this in many ways, including:

• Ask the child what he/she is feeling and create opportunities for him or her to express emotions. Don’t offer advice but just listen.
• Try your best to establish routines. Routines help us feel grounded and centered and safe. You can try to keep routines as close to his/her routines before COVID-19 or you can create a new family routine to help everyone in the family regain a new sense of normal.
• Back to basics. Make sure that your child is getting enough sleep and physical activity and is eating healthy foods.
• Spend one on one time with your child. Let him/her pick the activity. Don’t use this time for teaching or correcting and try to overlook minor misbehavior. This is a time for connecting with your child and strengthening your relationship.
• Limit their exposure to the news and media.”

How can I talk about Coronavirus without adding to my child’s stress?

Keri Knight, LCSW

​Know the facts. Get the facts from trusted resources. Let your kids know that you’re there to answer any questions they may have. Maybe say, “What questions do you have?” and don’t offer more detail that your child is interested in. Stick to the facts and speak in a calm and reassuring voice.

Talk to your kids about things they can do to feel more in control like washing their hands. Let them know that everyone deals with hard times and that stress is normal. Stressful times don’t last forever and when you come out on the other side, you’re stronger and more resilient than before.”

I feel worried all the time about COVID-19. What should I do?

Keri Knight, LCSW

​You have many options:

• Get support and talk about your worries to a trusted friend or a therapist.
• Take care of yourself. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, getting some exercise, eating nutritious foods as much as possible, and getting outside in nature.
• Do a brain dump. Write down all of your worries and thoughts on a piece of paper. Getting them out of your head can help you feel some relief.
• Focus on what you can control and let go of the things out of your control.
• Write your worries down on a piece of paper. Then for each worry ask yourself “What evidence do I have that this is actually going to happen?” This can help you to separate facts from the stories your brain is creating about what might happen.

Another tip: Give your brain something else to do. Our brains like to have a job. They also like to keep us safe and are always on the lookout for anything that might cause us harm. So instead of letting your brain make a list of everything that could go wrong, have it scan for all the things that are going okay.

How can I help my family deal with the disturbing information regarding the pandemic?

Dr. Brian Briscoe

You have many options:

• Limit exposure to news about the coronavirus to no more than 30 min per day at the most.
• When engaging in conversation with others, steer the conversation towards topics other than the pandemic.  Yes, its perfectly normal and healthy to discuss the pandemic, but also try to bring up other interests that you have shared in the past and let those topics be the focus of the conversation as well.
• Keep busy.   Engage in a hobby that you have previously enjoyed, or pick up a new hobby that you have considered starting in the past but never had time to engage in before.

What are my options for getting mental health care during the pandemic?

Dr. Brian Briscoe

If you get to the point that your anxiety/worry is overwhelming you to the extent that you are having a fair amount of difficulty functioning in life, it may be time to consider reaching out for professional help. Not everyone needs professional help, but some people do.  It is not a sign of weakness to get help.   Most of the people I know who receive mental health care these days are very high functioning people – every day moms and dads, teachers, attorneys, physicians, business executives, etc.  Good people with everyday problems.

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