How To Best Handle Hard Times & Anxiety

This information was shared with me from our awesome crowncouncil team and I feel is necessary for me to share it with you especially if you work with the public and have a team to take care of.

“We are obviously in unprecedented times where everyone is working to gather information and make informed decisions as best as they can. There is a human and emotional side to all of this that merits some attention as we sort through fact and fiction and changing circumstances,.  Below are some reminders for personal consideration as well as consideration with your teams as we move ahead.

Pulling together in spirit of harmony for a common objective will always produce the best result. We hope you can do that at home, in the office and here as a Crown Council family.   We hope the following will be helpful to all of us as we move forward: Maintaining a Culture of Success in an Era of Anxiety (Or how to keep your head when everyone is losing theirs!) As you sort through the many changing circumstances around us, here are some suggestions for Crown Council teams and teams everywhere to stay grounded and be a source of courage and leadership at home, in your practices, and in your community:

Take care of the “Goose.”  You remember the Aesop’s Fable of the Goose and Golden Egg. Without the goose, there are no golden eggs.  So take care of the goose!

• Eat a healthy balanced diet
• Get plenty sleep
• Take care of your health and immune system.
• Get some exercise daily.

Take care of your mental health:Talk!  Give your team and family space to talk as a group about what they are experiencing and feeling. The gift of speech does wonders for mental health. If your team is mentally healthy, they will be better able to listen compassionately to patients. Your patients need an outlet as well. Fill your team’s bucket so they can fill others.  Don’t believe everything you hear AND stay informed from the most credible sources you can find. Balance the news with some positive reading and positive media. Keep feeding your brain good stuff! 

Watch for the 5 stages of grief and change: Be aware of these five stages of emotions that are common in all of us during a time of change and uncertainty. 

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

All of these emotions are going to be visible and they are natural. Don’t be alarmed when they show up in the behavior of your patients, those around you, and yourself. Give space for the emotions of others without being a victim of disrespectful or abusive behavior.  Many times anxiety manifests as anger. In a time when many are anxious, they may come off as angry. If that happens, ask yourself, “What might this person be anxious about?  What can I do to help alleviate their anxiety?”  Be compassionate and remember that when you deny an emotion, it will fight for survival. Give the emotion some space to express itself and it will subside. Most of the time it is not about you. It is about the anxiety the other person is feeling.

Find the seed:  Within every adversity is the seed of its equal or greater opportunity. Look for the opportunity to do good and benefit the lives of others in every situation.

Be Grateful:  Make a list of things for which you are grateful.  Even when things around you may seem uncertain and changing, there are always things for which to be grateful.  Gratitude is proven to be good for your mental as well as your physical health. 

Be kind!  Everyone is coping with the same or similar issues. We are all in this together so be compassionate. Some deal with anxiety better than others.

Laugh! There is always room for humor in almost every situation. A little comic relief when appropriate will help a lot.  Remember: This too shall pass. Things will continue to change rapidly for a time and it may be a wild ride so…hang on!

And finally…Stay close to the ones you love!   A Culture of Success is a philosophy of life, not just in the calm waters, but in the choppy waters as well. Learn it, live it, and love it!

Steven J. Anderson and the Crown Council and Total Patient Service Institute teams. 

I hope this help you.

God Bless,

Jani