Fear is a natural response to life-threatening situations and before it gets out of control, we need to use OUR powers to stop its grip on us. While you may feel you don't have power over the coronavirus, you do and you can help yourself right now.

Remember, one of these hormones, cortisol, can be damaging to your health, especially your immune system, so we must learn what to do. In excess, cortisol can cause real damage to your bones, too, bring on depression, memory impairment and weight (stress-related eating), and leave you unmotivated. It, in effect, burns you out.

What to Do

The fear-enhancing hormones that are meant to help us survive must be brought back to normal levels and we can do this. Although you believe biology is beyond your control, it's not. 

You can control your blood pressure, your heart rate and these hormones, but you may know how to do it. Let me help you.

A simple thing you can do right now and you can do it wherever you are and whenever you want is relaxation breathing. This type of breathing is easily learned within one minute and has immediate results. 

Do it in the shower, while you're walking anywhere, as you do any activity. The change is immediate because it causes helpful changes in your blood in a good way.

Don't wait to do it; do it now and let your PCP know you're using it. Persons with chronic illness should be aware that stress and fear are the enemy and we must defeat this enemy for our health