My family and I have been sheltering at home for weeks now due to the Coronavirus pandemic. I’m tired of being stressed out about it. I’ve written an article about my grief of all that we’ve lost, but right now, we learned on the local news that we might need to continue sheltering at home for a few more weeks. No one knows for sure.

I’m anxious, having difficulty sleeping, worried about my mom, who is on her own, and the world around me keeps getting scarier as people I know are losing their jobs and becoming sick with the virus.

It’s a dark time right now.

A lot is going wrong.

I’m trying hard to deal with my feelings, but with so much unknown and uncertain, it’s not easy to do.

I feel like a hypocrite in sharing warm and fuzzy thoughts about how important it is to deal with your problems, but what do I do when things hit the fan?

Control the spiral.

I acknowledge that I’m going into ruminating anxiety mode. I worry about something and then begin to perseverant on it and find it difficult to stop worrying.

Have you had problems like this in your life?

Maybe something has gone wrong, and you are floundering. I’ve been there. I’m there now.

Each day I’m writing this book, meditating, and am working to find tools to help me with my stress.

Earlier this week, I stumbled on an episode of Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast that helped. She interviewed Dr. Marc Brackett, and he talked about his book Permission to Feel. He mentioned the RULER program that helped me deal with what I’m going through.

What’s RULER? Here’s the definition: “The RULER approach is about five key principles – recognition, understanding, labeling, expression, and regulation.”

What does this all mean? In a nutshell, Dr. Brackett recommends that we take time each day to check in with how we’re feeling, understanding why we’re feeling that way, designate an emotion (or a set of emotions) for how we’re feeling, talk to someone or what down how we feel, and then work on self-talk to help us deal with our emotions.

I started practicing the RULER technique today after a challenging day, and it made a big difference. What don’t you give it a try?

And I also learned about the Mood Meter app that’s available for both the iPhone and Android.

When things go wrong, I’m taking responsibility to help myself. I have the power to overcome my problems. It might not be easy and could take a long time, but I’m not powerless.

Bookmark this page for the next time you’re in the depths of a major crisis, or you can start working on these skills now with daily check-ins on how you’re feeling. Learning a new skill and using new tools to help you now will benefit you when a big problem lands in your lap.

It’s been a difficult week, but I do feel better that I’m doing the work to help myself. I’m not throwing my hands up in despair. I’m walking toward a brighter tomorrow—step by step.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.