There are many other "antidotes" to fear and anxiety. A quick search of articles, brought me this sampling which I've arranged here as three basic categories of strategies for overcoming fear: taking charge of ourselves (goals and direction, action, acquiring knowledge, saying "yes" to something new, courage, being in the now), focusing on others (compassion, generosity, leadership), turning to the spiritual (faith, hope, grace, light). Of course there are still many other ways to strategize managing fear!
We can distinguish fear from anxiety--fear being a primarily physical response to an actual threat and anxiety being a perception that includes the thought and feeling that there is, or may be, a threat. The thoughts may or may or may not be accurate and realistic. But the fear response impacts our neurocircuitry impacting our thinking and emotional response, and our thoughts and expectations further alter perception and impact our body to respond with fear. It's not at all a simple thing to separate the two and determine what fear is realistic and what isn't, especially if you are in isolation listening to current news. Remembering that meditation, over time, lowers the fear response and anxiety, helps you sustain your practice even in a time of fear. Your are "taking charge" by returning again and again to a time of stillness and inner reflection. That time inevitably will bring an inner sense of others and the questions of how you integrate others into your inner reflection and outer life. Your begin to see the wisdom of "focusing on others". Your meditation seen in the light of "spiritual practice" brings new awareness of both your fears and your capacity to let go and accept an underlying peace."Sheltering in Place" holds the potential not just for impacting others' health and your own, but also for the time and space to build inner strength.
In the classic tale of Buddha's awakening, "Siddhartha", Hermann Hesse relates the story of Siddhartha's decision to return to the material world. After years in the forest living in a community of wandering ascetic monks, he returns to the city seeking work. During his employment interview, he has asked what he has learned from those years of renunciation and spiritual practice, what has he to give to the business. Siddhartha responds, "I can think, I can wait. I can fast." His potential employer probes a little further, asking him if he can write and testing him by asking him to write something out then and there. Siddhartha takes the pen and writes, "Writing is good, thinking is better. Being smart is good, being patient is better."
Siddhartha is hired.
"Sheltering in Place" holds the potential not just for impacting others' health and your own, but also for the time and space to build inner strength for the time of return. (Susan Nettleton)