Right now I’m worried…This situation is outside of my control…There’s nothing specific I could do to impact the big picture…And as I’m engaging with a constant stream of information via social media and news outlets…I recognize more and more what is outside of my control…I recognize more and more how little control I actually have…It is scary when I don’t have control…Because it feels like my life is simply at the whim of the universe…Which means bad things can happen to me…And bad things can happen to my loved ones…There isn’t anything that I can do about that…And it’s a scary sensation…When I have control, it feels like I can do something…But even though I can’t do anything about the bigger picture right now…It doesn’t mean I lack control…I can still make thoughtful choices moment to moment…To help me to stay healthy…To help me to stay safe…To help me to be prepared…The reality is I’m not in control all the time…It just feels like I’m in control most of the time because things are going well…Right now I have as much control as I normally do…I’m just facing a problem I’m not used to facing…I have been safe for a long time when I wasn’t in control…It’s possible for me to be safe now when I’m not in control…I give myself permission to know I don’t have to watch the news all of the time…I give myself permission to know I don’t have to be inundated by so much information…I give myself permission to be thoughtful about all of the media I am consuming…I can stay informed without having to consume it all…I can stay informed without becoming obsessed…I know that when I’m consuming it all the time, it feeds my anxiety…Even when people are trying to share information in a thoughtful way can cause me to feel anxious…I give myself permission to control what I can control…I control the information I consume…I can control the environments I choose to be in…I can listen to my own body…I can make thoughtful choices to stay healthy now…I can make thoughtful choices to keep myself safe…I give myself permission to be easy right now…Knowing that I can remain calm and make thoughtful decisions without descending into panic…Knowing that I can make thoughtful decisions even when I’m not in total control.