How bad are things going to get? Is the world coming to an end? Is this it? And other questions about the alien future can make it hard for us to focus, sleep or even find that scrap of motivation and energy to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.
A majority of us are beneath a cloud of anxiety and despair, a cloud instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From worrying about our own and our loved one’s health to worries about our academics, work or finances, we have become a victim of the inevitable anxiety that comes from a disease that was just considered Gunfan’s older brother.
To those of us under this cloud, asking the big questions, and trying to cope with the situation that has currently taken the world hostage, I recommend, for us an unnecessary journey thousands of years into the past and a needless voyage across the world to consider the philosophies of our long-lost. For a respiratory infection, some may wonder why we are focusing on the mind.
In primitive times, our barren ancestors learned to survive the dangers and troubles of our environment by learning to focus their attention on the threat. Now, more than ever, we are faced with a disease that threatens our livelihood, and just like clock-work we have fallen into a rabbit-hole of reading and watching the news about the virus; everyday learning new methods and practices to protect ourselves.
However, this excessive obsession is becoming a mental illness pandemic upon itself. If you’re suffering from sleeplessness, difficulty focusing, increased irritability, then you might have picked up this internal plague. But don’t worry, because trailing is the tips and recommendations of the greatest thinkers of all time.
Stoicism and being present
When confronted with any type of intimidation, the initial response should be to gauge our surroundings and get a sense of what we are dealing with. Then, allowing ourselves to notice how we are reacting to what is happening.
This understanding of acknowledgment coined by Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epicurus is called Stoicism. It reminds us to never underestimate the power that distractions from the world have over our emotions and to give ourselves credit with what overwhelming control we have to feel what we want to feel.
More pertinent than ever, Stoicism prompts us to live in the moment and escape from our dire thoughts of what is to happen. In this philosophy, we learn to accept that our mind can wander to undesirable boundaries, and when that happens Seneca teaches us that with the right amount of self-restraint and discipline, we can steer our awareness back to more conservative and positive thoughts.
So, at a time when everything feels out of control, and our imagination starts stewing and spinning wheels when we can’t get anywhere, Stoicism pleas you to decide to make a conscious decision about who you want running the show.
Buddhism and mindfulness
Another method of reducing stress is what the Buddhists call “Samatha”. Samatha is a Sanskrit word which is to mean stopping, calming and reserving a tranquil mind. It dedicates itself to the deliberate focus of our present actions and decisions. Incised with it, is Buddhism’s principal philosophy; mindfulness.
With COVID-19 bombarding us with all this chaos, mindfulness reminds us to calm our minds and inquire about the very patterns that birth the anxiety, to begin with. Nevertheless, we will be troubled with concerns that may dull our senses and distort the bigger picture that lay in front of us.
Just like our satellite receivers that may not work when there’s stormy weather, we may not work when our senses are overloaded with too many updates on the preverbal rain that is the Corona Virus. Patience in being present will finally clear our mind of all the congested worry and will get the satellite receivers working too.
Mindfulness from Buddhism addresses calmness to the mind, recognizing harmful patterns of behavior, and being present, patient, and compassionate to the healing process.
Honjok and self-acceptance
One method the world is fighting this pandemic is social-distancing. It is a non-pharmaceutical method deployed for preventing the spread of a contagious virus. Another manifestation of it is social-isolation, where one confines one-self and remains in solitude.
Social-distancing has been the go-to method of prevention. It has been quite successful in stabilizing the health crisis in most countries. However, social distancing has become for most a dreadful experience but a South Korean philosophy would hoot at us for experiencing it as such.
Honjok is a South-Korean based philosophy that blooms on sologamy, which means ‘a marriage to oneself’. Honjok was born out of two South Korean terms: ‘hon’, meaning ‘alone’ and ‘jok’, meaning ‘tribe.’
This philosophy is very interesting because it contests the traditional Korean vision of family and happiness. Advocates of this philosophy promise self-acceptance and self-love at the end of the self-isolation philosophy.
They explain that loneliness is based on feeling as though you have no social support to help you cope, but that being alone is an experience that can be pleasurable.
Honjok makes the point that, because humans are social beings, a part of us seeks to belong with others and to please others. Isolating ourselves from others doesn’t have to be a lonely experience, but only if we embrace the notion that we belong to ourselves.
Authors argue that when you know you have supportive relationships; you can feel better about the prospect of ‘being on your own.’ They also stress that alone time should be seen as a contemplative time, where we can focus on producing work that matters to us.
Apart from reflection, we can also use this time for dealing with our feelings as they arise. They explain that rather than suppressing how we feel, we should embrace and express emotions when we feel them and finally, understand why we feel the way we do.
So, is it the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius, the mindfulness of the Buddhists or the Self-Acceptance of the Honjok that you choose to manage the COVID-19 anxiety by. Or maybe it is a kaleidoscope of all of the philosophies wrapped up into one. Whichever method you choose, managing COVID-19 Anxiety is highly required of us.
The Ethiopian Herald April 7/2020
BY SURAFEL YIMAM
