The news about the spread of COVID-19 is changing fast — and people are trying to make decisions about everything from where to go for supplies & essential to how to best protect themselves and their communities. There are several psychological reasons why you may find decision-making difficult right now.

There is a looming presence of an invisible threat. The disease is real and is impacting people around the world, people are dying from it and it is spreading rapidly enough that there is new news every day. The human species like other animals are wired to pay attention to threats. Your survival instincts kick-in i.e. Fight-Flight-Freeze. This instinct channels all resources to the part of the brain that is responsible for your safety. At this time your logical, analytical brain shuts down. So, for most of us, your decisions are driven by fear and not by the best interest of our families, community, country or the world.

We need to slow down

A lot of uncertainty around us, i.e. health, financial, safety, etc. — Our mind does to dark places, constantly wondering, how many people have it, how quickly it’s moving through communities, how many people will ultimately get it. How will it impact my job, finances and my retirement, how long will this downturn last, etc?

Research shows, you need to regulate your breath and slow down. Once your pessimistic voice is turned off and you’re in a relaxed state, it’s time for positivity. Mark Waldman a neuroscientist, says you should ask your intuition (–which is that subtle inner voice of wisdom)–what is your deepest innermost value? Write down the first word that comes to mind. It could be integrity or peace, for example. Then, for one minute each morning focus on that word.

As a faculty member at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Waldman had his MBA students practice the relaxation and positivity exercises for 10 days in a row. He says the process reduced their stress over the course of nine months. “This was so powerful [that] we later implemented it as a core module in our executive MBA program,” he says. He also coaches CEOs and executives to use these strategies.

Watch the Video below for more tip on slowing down and making better decisions

You literally lose the capability of thinking or having empathy.

So how can you do this?

• Practice the act of shifting your focus to things you are grateful for.
• Take some time to think about the things you have other’s don’t.
• Or if that’s hard be grateful for try thinking about all the people in the front lines working their asses off to contain this pandemic.
• Whatever it is you do, take notice of things until you actually feel grateful.

And practice empathy.

Spend time connecting with your loved ones that you are home with.
Laugh with them. Tell them you appreciate them.

More resources

Emotional Connection While Social Distancing

Tips and strategies to build resilience in uncertain times.