How to quickly relieve coronavirus anxiety

2nd April, 2020 • 2 min read

Being stuck at home with little social contact can affect your mental wellbeing - no matter how laid-back you usually are. And if the uncertainty surrounding the current coronavirus outbreak is lingering in the back of your mind, you’re likely to feel a little (or a lot) more anxious than normal.

Whether that anxiety makes you feel on edge, irritable, nervous or panicky, breathing exercises are a quick way to make you feel calmer.

Here’s a quick breathing exercise you can try when you feel stressed or anxious today. It’s a yogic breath control practice known as alternate nostril breathing.

Here’s how to do it.

  1. Sit in a comfortable position.
  2. Lift your right hand towards your nose.
  3. Breathe out gently and press your right nostril closed using your right thumb.
  4. Breathe in through your left nostril then close it with your right index finger.
  5. Lift your thumb off your right nostril and breathe out.
  6. Breathe in through your right nostril then close it again with your thumb.
  7. Take your index finger off your left nostril and breathe out through it.

Repeat this for 5 minutes.

How do you feel?

If you think you may have coronavirus, you can use our COVID-19 Symptom Mapper to check your symptoms and compare them with others around the world.

This should give you a better understanding of how the illness is affecting you and will help us to map the spread of the outbreak.

Try the COVID-19 Symptom Mapper

TRY SYMPTOM MAPPER

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Article information

Published on:
02 April 2020
Last reviewed:
03 April 2020
Next review:
03 April 2023

Important: Our website provides useful information but is not a substitute for medical advice. You should always seek the advice of your doctor when making decisions about your health.