“Stress is the inability to decide what’s important.”
We all started this New Year with hope and prayers waiting for a better future. The year 2020 was a disastrous one. There were losses of all kind in the entire world. This pushed many of us into overthinking, anxiety, more precisely the Covid Anxiety, trauma and depression. We entered a new era of social distancing, sanitization, Quarantine, Novel Corona Virus. We were stuck to our homes. It was new and equally a scary way of life.
But the conditions have worsen this year. The Novel Corona virus is not new anymore. Since then, not only we have seen a great rise in patients suffering from this disease, we also saw a graphical increase in patients with mental Health issues most of which can be summed up as suffering from Covid Anxiety.
Covid Anxiety: We human beings are social animals and this change blew us hard. India is country of villages. We live in joint families and have gigantic functions. Not meeting our relatives is a big issue in itself especially for old age citizens who are staying away from their children and extended family. This again pushed a lot of them into what we can term as Covid Anxiety or depression.
News Channels are flooded with negative information. To add on it are irresponsible people who keep on sending incorrect facts and myth related messages on WhatsApp groups. People who are not well informed or not educated enough, get entrapped with these and become anxious with no one to talk to and share their fears. Even the strongest of minds found themselves crumpling under the Covid anxiety.
Loneliness, fear of disease, fear for their loved ones, being stuck in house, scary news and messages have all contributed to the number of people suffering from Covid anxiety.
The time is difficult for all of us. But we all have been taught, “the darker it gets, the nearer we are to the end of the tunnel”. Fearing, worrying is a part of human nature. We need to support each other and ask for help if the problem is critical. It’s okay not to be ok. If you need help, ask for it. There are number of mental healthcare organization that provide counseling online. Asking for help in such a scary situation is fine.
Covid anxiety seems a scary term. But there are ways we can help to deal with it. Here are a few ways I would suggest to help you deal with these difficult times:-
• Have A Routine: Being at home, often gives you the opportunity to be lethargic. This may give you a feel good factor for few days, but gradually it will push you to unhealthy activities and anxious mind. Therefore stick to a routine. Have a fixed sleeping pattern. Have 7-8 hours of sound Sleep.
• Eat Healthy: It’s very important that you include foods that boost your immunity. Right quantity of macro and micro nutrients along with the carbohydrates, proteins minerals and vitamins will keep you body healthy. As it is rightly said,” A healthy mind resides in a healthy body”.
• Meditation: Practice a little meditation everyday for ten to thirty minutes. It can be done anywhere, anytime, outside on the terrace or in the comfort of your room. Switch on a meditating music on your phone and just focus on your mind and divine soul. Let no worry, distraction, voice or thought interrupt you. Only focus on your breath, inhale exhale slowly and let your mind stay focused.
• Develop A Hobby: We all have wanted to learn something during our childhood or later, which we could not due to lack of time, studies, jobs, responsibilities etc. It is the right time to enroll for that dance class, music class; learn chess badminton, Zumba, Tarot, anything that you had once craved for. These days we are privileged to learn anything from the comforts of our home.
• Limit The News: This is very important. Keeping a track of everything these days, scrolling through your social media account will make you more vulnerable and weak. So limit your news time to 15 to 30mins a day. Avoid talking to people who have the habit of exaggerating a problem and scaring you more than the problem that actually exists.
• No Thought Zone: As I suggested in my earlier video, you should have a few no thought zones in your everyday life. No- thought zone means engaging yourself in something that occupies your mind completely. Painting, gardening, spending time with your family, playing indoor games, watching an old movie can take your mind completely off the negative environment around.
• Connect With Your Loved Ones: Keep in touch with your near and dear ones. Call your old friends, you can also get connected through Google meet or Zoom Call. This will instantly lift up your mood.
• Start Journaling: Start maintaining a small diary to write down your positive or negative feelings. This will give you a way to vent out your feelings, your negative thoughts and you will feel better.
• Ask For Help: Last but not the least, if you think you are not able to handle your fear or anxiety, take help. There are many online mental health organization that can help you get through this. A few of them are:
You can also book an appointment with a therapist, psychologists or psychiatrists at My Fit Brain starts from 200INR. You can reach me at 9050232637. And we will make sure get support and help in these difficult times. So let’s stat strong and support each other in these times, we cannot control the world outside, but we can control our minds. The stronger we are, the easier it would be to face the situation and help others around. And for the world outside, let’s hold on to our thread of hope and pray. Believe in the divine power. Faith can work wonders.
“You cannot always control what goes on outside, but you always control what goes on inside”. Wayne Dyer
