Never in the history of humanity have so many people been feeling intense anxiety related to COVID-19 and the world it will leave in its wake. The intent of this course is to give you a deeper understanding of the anxiety reaction as it relates to various aspects of our current life, ranging from our consumption of news to the way we talk to our children about this. I will also give you clear strategies for managing and, in fact, turning off the anxiety response at least for short periods.
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My sincere hope is that you will leave this course with a better understanding of how your brain reacts to crises, along with some powerful tools for managing it before it manages you.
In this course we will cover:
1.1 Introduction and Overview
1.2 Understanding the Anxiety Response
1.3 The Necessity of Strategies to Manage Anxiety
1.4 Achieving Relaxation: A Skill We All Need to Learn Now
2.1 Why Watching the News is Addicting and How to Manage Your Consumption
2.2 The Critical Art of Mental Distraction to Crowd Out Stressors
2.3 How We Think About Physical Distancing and Explaining it to Our Children
3.1 The Effects of Isolation
3.2 Some Strategies to Make Isolation More Tolerable
3.3 The Importance of Social Connection in a Physical Distancing World
4.1 The Need to Guard Against Depression: The Importance of Control
4.2 Bring it Together: Practice Makes Proficient
4.3 Invitation to Suggest Additional Videos
Syllabus
WEEK 1
The Machinery Underlying Anxiety and How to Control It
This module is intended to introduce you to the nervous system underlying your anxiety response (the sympathetic nervous system) and also to its opposite side, the relaxation (or parasympathetic nervous system). You will learn that the best way to shut down anxiety is to learn how to put your body in a relaxed state. I guided relaxation audio file is also provided with the fourth video to help you practice learning to relax.
WEEK 2
Managing Anxiety by Managing Your Environment
Another way to manage your anxiety is by being careful about what stimuli and activities you expose yourself to. Some make your more anxious, some counter anxiety. By understanding the effects these have you can choose experiences wisely.
WEEK 3
Understanding and Managing the Effects of Isolation
Many if not most of us are not either quarantined or living in self-isolation. In this module I'll help students understand some of the psychological reactions they may have to isolation and, once again, how to manage ones emotional states to ultimately tolerate what is an unnatural way of living.
WEEK 4
Summary
