5 Practical Tips to Stop Fear and Choose Love
By Julie Jacky
With the spreading of the COVID-19, there is a lot of fear going on in the world right now. If you’re experiencing fear, it’s important for you to know that fear is a normal response. Your body is literally hardwired for fear—to keep you safe.
You can feel fear and other emotions inside of your body on some level.
Right now, fear impacts us one way or another, whether it’s the fear we feel when we hear someone cough in public (or are afraid of what others will think if we cough in public) or our plans have changed because of canceled activities, canceled school, concerns about income changes, or, or, or. . . There are so many fears we can have.
Here is the thing though—it’s up to you if you want to stay in fear or not.
Once you recognize you feel fear in your body and you’re thinking fearful thoughts, you get to make a new choice.
I am recommending you choose LOVE—please keep reading.
When I share messages about stopping the fear and sending love like I did on Facebook and Instagram, it doesn’t mean I’m sticking my head in the sand or suggesting others to do that.
It means to stop living in a state of fear and start choosing something way more supportive of yourself and others.
You have a choice. You do have to choose though, because you cannot be in both fear and love at the same time.
Fear doesn’t help you. It doesn’t make anything better, it makes things worse.
Fear = false evidence appearing real.
Fear puts your body into a stress state, which weakens your immune system—which is the opposite of what we want to do right now.
Plus when we are in fear, we can’t think clearly, therefore, we can’t make good decisions.
For example, the rush to get toilet paper is fear-based. There have not been reports of massive diarrhea with COVID-19. People aren’t shitting like they’ve never shit before if they’ve tested positive for the virus.
While yes, it’s true if you self-quarantine (or we become required to quarantine) then you’ll use more toilet paper at home instead of the other places you normally use it. However, you won’t suddenly need to use up some crazy amount of it.
And if you do run out of toilet paper there are other options—face tissue, paper towels, washcloths, towels, and taking a shower to name a few.
But if you feel the need to stockpile toilet paper because you’re afraid you’ll run out, then please be sure to get an extra pack of it and drop it off at a homeless shelter or food shelf so you can turn your fear into love and help others in need. (There are people who are out of toilet paper now and can’t find it because the store shelves are empty—so consider checking on your neighbors to make sure they have some.)
Also, while you’re at the store picking up toilet paper, be sure to pick up items that will boost your immune system. Boosting your immunity will help your body more than the toilet paper will.
Here are 5 practical tips on how to stop fear and choose love to support yourself during this time:
BOOST IMMUNITY a quick Google search will result in many answers on what specifically you can eat to boost your immune system.
Here is one article about foods to eat.
SLEEP is also another way to support your body and boost your immune system. It’s a heck of a lot easier to get a good night’s sleep when you’re feeling love. . . and a heck of a lot harder when you’re in fear.
MEDITATION is a great practice to start (or do more if you’re already doing it). It helps you overcome the mind chatter going on, which will calm your system down.
Here is a link to a mediation you can download to help you with sleep.
Here is a link to a mediation you can download to help balance your energy centers, which will boost your immune system:
EFT/TAPPING will help reduce the cortisol (stress hormone) in your body and calm it down. You’ll feel more relaxed and at ease after tapping.
Here is a link to an 8-minute tapping exercise that will help you reduce stress and feel calmer. (It doesn’t matter if you’ve tapped before or not. I will guide you in the video.)
SEND LOVE – Another way to support yourself and others is by energetically sending people Love. It’s easy to do and only takes a few moments of time. Here is an article on how to do that.
Listen, this isn’t a time to freak out. It’s a time to calm down, practice self-care, choose healthy foods, and to check in on others who may need support—all of those are loving acts.
We will all get through this one way or another. And when we do, we will all have shifted and changed in different ways. Please, do your part right now to make the shift for the better.