Coping With Coronavirus: Therapist Offers Suggestions To Deal With Anxiety & Grief

By Jaimie Goldstein, CBSN Denver Producer

DENVER (CBS4) - The coronavirus pandemic can be a very overwhelming time. Just talking about it may be stressful for some people. So many Coloradans are confining to their homes, and many can't help but feel isolated, even if they aren't sick.

Kelly Werthmann talked to Shannon Heers, a therapist from Catalyss Counseling, about how to navigate some of these challenges.

With so many students not at school and missing out on so many milestones, they might feel grief.

"There's so many things we're missing. We are experiencing grief. We're experiencing loss because of all the different things that we've lost. And that grief is going to come out in a lot of different ways," she said.

Heers says all of us are in the same boat; at home trying to figure out an uncertain road ahead.

"Anxiety in its most basic form is fear of the future or fear of the unknown. And right now, that's what's going on for all of us."

This is such a new concept for many, that they may never have experienced this type of anxiety before. In fact, anxiety may be entirely new to people. Because we are trying to stay away from familiar things like grocery shopping as much as possible, there may be panic when we do decide to go. Being required to stay away from people can be extremely difficult for some.

Heers recommends minimizing your social media intake. She says focusing on the present moment can help with staying positive, and take care of yourself.

"If you're not taking care of yourself the way you need to, there's no way people can sustain taking care of other people for the long haul."

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