Uncertainty Toolkit
There’s no doubt that one of the biggest challenges of the
Covid-19 epidemic is the uncertainty that it has created for
our home lives, work, money and relationships.
When uncertainty causes us to worry and become
stressed, it can have a significant impact on our mental
health. You may find it hard to focus or sleep, become
irritable with loved ones or experience irrational or paranoid
thoughts.
...this short guide
will give you tips
By learning to cope with uncertainty, it's possible to control
these negative behaviours and prevent yourself from feeling to help you cope
overwhelmed. This new-found resilience is based on three
important rules:
with uncertainty.
1. Be kind to yourself.
2. Accept and let go of things you can't change.
3. Seek support from those you trust.
www.solentmind.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1081116
Changing I...so cannot control
your thinking I can let go of these things:
Predicting what If others follow the
We may not always be happens next rules of social
able to control the I can control
...so I will focus on these things:
distancing
outcome of our fears,
but we can learn to
How I can How I can
control how we respond structure support my
Limiting How long
to them. my day loved ones this will go
my social
on for
media
Have a look at this My own Turning off
social the news
exercise and see if My kindness
The actions distancing
you can create your of others Finding fun Other people's
things to do happiness
own using things that
at home
you are worried Changes to my
What the government
about. workplace, studies or
decides to do next
children's schooling
Adapted from resources created by
www.thecouncellingsteacher.com www.solentmind.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1081116
The Worry Tree
In a time as difficult as this it’s easy to get overwhelmed by
worrying about what might happen. You may feel out of control,
or feel like you need to keep worrying because it feels useful –
or that bad things might happen if you stop.
There are always practical steps we can take that will make us
feel more in control of our worries. This worry tree may help
you deal with some of those intrusive thoughts and worries and
help you feel less anxious by helping you focus on the present.
When using the tree, it’s helpful to think about the kind of
worry you have. Worries can be separated into hypothetical
situations and current problems.
Hypothetical situations are those “what if?” thoughts about
things that may or may not happen, like “what if one of my
loved ones gets ill?”. This is often followed by imagining
the worst-case scenarios. These kinds of worries can
cause a lot of anxiety, when there is perhaps little we
can do about the situation. This may be especially
difficult at the moment, when we are all worried about
things that we have not had to think about before.
Current problems are those that relate to a real situation,
which we often CAN do something about. In which case
we can decide what to do, when and how. Even if we
cannot solve the current problem that is causing us worry,
we can still find ways to feel better about situations we
are in, for example by proactively developing new coping
strategies such as trying mindfulness techniques or the
five ways to wellbeing.
www.solentmind.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 1081116
Adapted from resources created by www.getselfhelp.co.uk
