We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily at 9 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm PST on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!

“Resilience is something that you can cultivate.”

—Michelle Kuei, Author, Life Coach, Speaker, and Founder of elevatelifecoaching.org

If you’re feeling anxious as a result of COVID-19, your’e certainly not alone. In fact, more than one-third of Americans (36%) say that coronavirus is having a serious impact on their mental health and most (59%) feel that coronavirus is having a serious impact on their day-to-day lives, according to a new poll by the American Psychiatric Association.

For tips on how to cope with anxiety and fear in the midst of this crisis, we tapped Michelle Kuei, an author, life coach, speaker, and the founder of elevatelifecoaching.org, for the latest installment of our Ask an Expert series. Ahead, we’re sharing three actionable steps she swears by for dealing with anxiety and fear during coronavirus and beyond. Be sure to follow Create & Cultivate to tune into the next conversation.

Step 1: Understand Your Fear

“You’re probably familiar with the following acronym: Fear is false evidence appearing real. It’s our body’s natural response to the unknown.

So, here are a few empowering questions to ask yourself to start understanding your fear:

1. What are you telling yourself when you are afraid?

2. What are you afraid of?

3. Is what you’re afraid of real? (Avoid falling into the trap of that acronym.)

4. How likely is it that what you’re afraid of is going to happen?

Recognizing fear is step one, and now you have a choice: you can run away from fear or you can overcome it by creating a safety net.”

Step 2: Create a Safety Net

“Start by asking yourself: What is the worst thing that can happen? You might lose your business, you might lose your job, you might not be able to pay your rent. Think through all your worst-case scenarios and write them down.

Then, look at your worst-case scenarios and ask yourself: How likely is it that it’s going to happen? If you feel like the worst-case scenario is a likely outcome, come up with a plan. Planning can help us reduce some of the unknowns and can help alleviate the fear and stress that comes with uncertainty.

Another way to manage fear: Fake it till you make it or, as I like to say, face it till you get it. Start thinking about your fear as a part of you and you don’t need to get rid of it. The fear is showing up because it wants to protect you. Instead of resisting it, walk with it.”

Step 3: Cultivate Resilience

“I recommend that everyone keeps a judgement journal. Journaling is a great way of keeping track of what happens and as an outlet for our emotions.

To start a judgement journal, here’s what you do: Keep track of your negative thoughts, and for each negative thought, come up with two different ways of looking at it.

This is a process that we call “reframing.” Every statement that we use and the phrases that we speak to ourselves matter. The more that we can train ourselves to have a different perspective we train ourselves to use those different judgment muscles, such as gratitude and resilience.

Remember, resilience is something that you can cultivate.”

About the Expert: Michelle Kuei, Pharm.D., ACC, CPC, ELI-MP, is an author, life coach, speaker, and the founder of elevatelifecoaching.org. She’s an ICF associate certified coach, a certified professional coach, a certified energy leadership index master practitioner, a certified Cor.E transitions dynamic specialist, a WomanSpeak Circle leader, and a doctor of pharmacy.