Stress amidst Covid19- How do we keep sane?
Many of us struggle with anxiety in normal days and in situations like these, it has reached an all-time high. Whether its worry for the safety of older family members or worried about balancing working from home with a partner or children, 5 things which can prevent stress. The coronavirus pandemic is affecting our everyday lives in different ways and things are changing at such a rapid pace that it is impossible to know what to expect next.
1. Connecting with Support Systems-
Thank God for the technology, times like these make us realize that our electronic devices allow us to stay easily connected even while we are socially distancing. And while video chatting does not provide the same emotional benefits of meeting, they do allow us to maintain social support and keep our minds a bit relaxed.
2. Curtailing mainstream and social media consumption.
Now many of you may say, that it is contradictory to the first one, but this is the beauty of our brains, we can choose and decide, what works for us in any given situation. Keeping the News channels on, all 24 hours is not going to change the news, it only will increase our anxiety.
Studies show that watching the news causes a spike in anxiety, even during the best of times. Listening to reports of “death tolls” can be daunting which keeps us in heightened state, which is not good for any of us. So, while it’s important to stay up-to-date, consuming media all day is not required
3. Creating a list of things to do in a day may help-
All of us are working from home, no going out for work, gym or prayer places even parks or malls. Not having a schedule to follow structure in this situation can cause us to feel even more anxious.
A days schedule made previous night will help, find out the things which can be done during the day, such as exercise or yoga, cooking, reaching out to friends and family over phone or skype, setting up the wardrobes, just decide what else you want to add and prioritize.
4. Managing emotions with appropriate & logical explanations
Naming & labeling feelings reduces the intensity of them which helps in dealing with them.
- Stopping & investigating that
- How are we Feeling
- Anxious
- Overwhelmed
- Frustrated
- Sad
- Or angry
Any feeling is fine, as acknowledging rather than fighting with them is the first step and then comes, giving an appropriate explanation to satisfy self, helps in dealing with them. So, it is important to balance out emotions with logic. It is a fact that once we start thinking the world is ending or we cannot get through this, reminding self that pandemics end, economies rebound, and people survive.
5. Remind self that “Comfort Zone” is within me
In these times remembering & reminding what works for us in any given situation creates comfort. Instead of stepping out of our Comfort Zone, wrapping ourselves up in it and keeping it with us into every new and fearful situation will help. Our Comfort Zone, includes everything we need, our strengths, all our successes, our talents & skills, lessons we have learned from mistakes, our support systems and the problems we had overcome.
If we will keep on focusing on things we cannot control such as present situation, it will make us more anxious and panic driven.
So lets focus on things we can control, like steps we can take to keep ourselves safe, how we can spend our time constructively, and how we will manage our travels & finances after it is over. Gaining a sense of control over something can help us gain inner peace and wellbeing.
Any comments or questions are welcome.
Take care friends & stay at home.
Be safe, Be well.
Reenu Sahore
Group Wellness Mentor