The corona virus pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives. And the constant news about this crisis can feel unceasing. It is impacting not only our physical but also taking its toll on mental health too.
As people everywhere in the world find themselves working from home, unable to travel and visit their families and friends, staying mentally healthy can be very difficult.
It is a natural reaction for anyone to feel anxiety
, stress, loneliness, and fear of these unprecedented circumstances. It’s important that we try and restrain the effect it’s giving on us both emotionally and physically. We all know stress can cause an excess of the hormone cortisol in our bodies, which increases our weakness to depression. It makes us less able to think clearly and work productively.
Here are some tips to maintain mental health that we can begin doing during the lockdown period.
Having a routine is important, especially with students. Since schools are closed, it might feel like all things are off. Deborah Serani PsyD, a professor of psychology at Adelphi University says “Studies in resiliency during traumatic events encourage keeping a routine to your day,”
This means we should establish our mealtime, sleeping, exercising at regular times because unorganized time can cause boredom that raises anxiety or depression. Which can also lead to unhealthy patterns of managing your mental and physical well-being.
So rather than wondering in the morning, whether to start work or studying your online learning, it is better to know what your plans are for the day. You have to make a schedule and learn to stick with it. With this, it will free up your mental bandwidth during this time of uncertainty.
You can also start an at-home exercise routine to maintain your health since gyms are closed. You can do yoga or Zumba or any exercise routine that you know. You can look for some videos or online workout sources. Anything that gets your heart pumping or builds muscle is great for both physical and mental health.
This unprecedented event gives us the opportunity to declutter, clean and organize our home. Cleaning not only gives us a sense of control in the face of uncertainty, but it also gives our mind, body, and soul a rest from distressing situations.
Breathe or just meditate. It has been shown that meditation reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety. It even increases the volume of certain areas of the brain.
If meditation is not for you, then maybe breathing slowly might help. It has been used for Millenium to soothe the mind. A study done a few years ago points out that slow breathing is used to clinically conceal unrestrained stress like panic attacks.
Unfortunately, social connectivity like gatherings are things that we cannot do right now. That has to be creative, to maintain both psychological closeness and a sense of community. We can do video conferencing, texting, calling and use other social media platforms to ease some loneliness.
At the same time, showing small acts of kindness has a strong and instant benefit to our mental health. Also, feeling a sense of purpose has also been shown to help people recuperate from negative events and raise flexibility. For some who are fortunate, looking for ways to help others amid this crisis is probably very good for their welfare.
Another thing to consider is practicing gratitude. This may not be easy since most of us can feel the effect of the pandemic, some lose their job, some shuts their business for the meantime and some are sick. Despite the challenge that we are all facing right now, write down some things that you are grateful for.
Then let yourself off the hook, don’t blame yourself when things are not going perfectly inside your household. Use this time to reflect on the important things, and try to keep a sense of “we’re all in this together” at the lead.
With all of the tips mentioned, it is vital that organizations build a plan on how to encourage and help their team members in this current situation we are facing. Having a virtual meeting with the team to talk about non-work related stuff and making them feel that they are your friend who is ready to listen anytime. It is ADVANCE PH's way of making everyone feel that we can cope up with this pandemic and that we are stronger than the ongoing crisis.
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