Have to remind yourself what's within your powers to affect. Businesses closing down etc. isn't something you can control. Heck, even if it's your own business there might come a time when it's no longer viable.
COVID is a good example of whether or not you'll allow all the "what if's" to affect you in your day to day. You could develop health anxiety or agoraphobia if you overloaded on news and assumed you were in grave danger the moment you stepped outside your home.
In the first few months of COVID I was deeply concerned, but we knew fairly early on about symptoms, those most at risk etc. The main driving force behind the fear has been how relentless the media has been with regards to all aspects of the pandemic. From shortages in several shops leading to mass panic buying across counties and nations, to conflicting info on the virus, the vaccines etc. The chronic indecisiveness of many countries politicians etc.
But again - all things that are outside of your control. Which can leave you feeling out of control which can fuel anxiety. Or you get to a point of laissez faire - let it be. After all, what's not within your powers to affect is not worth worrying about.
Now, this sounds too simple to be true. Or so basic that it's almost frustrating to listen to or consider. Sometimes the simplest solutions often provide the most invaluable results. But it's not something that occurs overnight. The thought processes of people on the spectrum are often very complex and in depth. Prone to overthinking and anxious rumination, going over the same thoughts or ideas again and again, until they almost become like a personal mantra.
It does simplify things to an extent when you take a step back from the narratives that drive negative emotions, and ponder for a moment if you're fixating on something that is unsolvable. Because, if you are - then it's a waste of time and energy. So why do we persist in concentrating upon it?
As with anything, it takes practice. I'm guilty of seemingly instinctively responding to many situations from an anxious or worrisome mindset. But I'm also getting quicker at realising when I'm peeing against the wind, and when I need to focus my attentions elsewhere.
Mind you, I had prolonged periods fretting over the end of the world. From the age of 9 and through my teen years. Eventually reaching a point of acceptance. COVID was no different. But for a virus with such a low mortality rate, the media is treating it as if it's the bubonic plague. It isn't.
Ed
