How to navigate the coronavirus outbreak and avoid anxiety and depression
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Hi. I’m Clarissa Gosney, licensed psychologist with Pinnacle Counseling and Testing Center in Southern California. With the stress of the coronavirus you may be feeling anxiety or depression. I’m here to give you some tips and tools on how to survive social isolation.
First, get yourself set up with a good daily schedule. Wake up at a certain time each day. Schedule yourself some good healthy meals and exercise. Even if this means taking a brisk walk around the block or playing tag with the kids. And get yourself and your children set up with a good bedtime routine so you can get enough sleep throughout the night.
Depression tends to be worry about the past and anxiety worry about the future that we can’t control. In order to limit the stress, I recommend doing some exercises to help you stay present. This can include prayer or meditation; it can also include some grounding exercises.
Many therapists are offering counseling services virtually during this time. I also recommend limiting your media exposure. Even though we’re being discouraged from physical social contact, I highly recommend keeping in contact with your friends and loved ones through talk, text, and even video chat. We so much crave that social connection with people and this is a great way to continue to make that happen.
By following some of these tips and tools, you can be helping yourself to reduce feelings of anxiety or feelings of stress. And by helping yourself, you can also help others.
Clarissa Gosney,Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and is the founder of Pinnacle Counseling and Testing Center, with offices in Murrieta and San Diego, California. Pinnacle offers a variety of psychological testing services. In combination with their training and experience in working with individuals with Selective Mutism, they are able to offer a unique testing experience for individuals looking for evidence of need for academic or vocational accommodations.
Dr. Gosney also created “Outside Voice,” a camp for children and adolescents with Selective Mutism. At Outside Voice, counselors trained in the treatment of Selective Mutism use a combination of CBT, Exposure, and PCIT-SM skills to help campers overcome their anxiety about speaking with peers and new adults both in the classroom setting and in the community.
She helps children and adults overcome the mountain of anxiety and traumatic experiences that have left them feeling defeated. She does this by providing individuals and families the tools they need to conquer anxiety, regardless of where or how it presents itself. She helps clients face their fears head-on through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy, while helping them apply the tools they learned in session to help manage their anxiety. In doing so, they can prove to themselves that many situations are not as frightening as their anxiety makes them seem. Her goal is for her clients to experience the long-term benefits of hands-on, short-term therapy. This way, they learn how they can conquer life’s mountains independently without feeling dependent on long-term treatment.
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