The fear of losing a loved one
No Job
Not seeing your close ones for weeks
Fear of getting infected
Corona has stilled many lingering fears and questions in all of our minds. Our days are spent dividing our pandemic concerns on each hour as the clock ticks by, hoping to see an end to this chaos.
One thing the outbreak has seriously taught us is to be mindful of our loved ones, appreciate our nature and take care of our health. Therefore, it is important to look after your psychological well-being to stay mentally strong and at peace.
Here are small exercises you can practice on a daily basis to break free from stressful events.
Effective Exercises Against Stress
1. Meditation
Mediation helps you get in sync with what flows through your mind. Meditation is very important to keep your nerves cool and stress free for the rest of the day. There are numerous benefits of meditation. Harvard Studies have shown how deep mindfulness and meditation helps depressed patients from relieving anxiety and soothes them down. Meditation is a powerful tool to declutter your mental space for more self-awareness and self-love. There are many ways you can meditate, however the simplest one is to sit in a quite open space. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing pattern. Freely breathe with no control over it and notice your body movements with it. Do this for a couple of minutes to help release the happy hormones of your mind.
2. Write
‘I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I write and I understand.’ Chinese Proverb
Writing is a powerful strategy for freeing your brain. When you write, you create a vessel in which the stress is not dominant in your consciousness and somehow has made its way into reality through a piece of paper. It may sound strange but writing helps you focus better. Even if you have a cloudy mind, once you start penning down your feelings, your brain automatically plunges into the mode of fixing it. This way you are able to identify the root cause of your stress and also know how you can fix it. One of the best ways to help relieve your mind through writing is by writing 3 pages daily soon after you wake up. This is an effective expressing emotional therapy suggested to get rid of mind blockers by sorting out the difficult emotions. Simply write whatever comes into your mind, whether it’s about the eggplant you ate last night or some dream you saw, just write it down. It doesn’t have to be 3 pages only; you can write as many pages or paragraphs as you wish.
3. Self-Talk
Most people are not aware of how powerful their inner voice is. The only problem is it gets overshadowed by constant worries, stress and self-doubts over a period of time. As strange as it may sound, when a thought pops up you have the utmost power to reverse it by simply talking opposite to the thought, inside yourself. Here is how you can do it. When you are feeling restless and can’t help your anxiety, go to your balcony or a short walk or wherever it’s quieter than the rest of the places and observe your thoughts. Whenever a stressful thought springs up, talk against it. Do not tell it off, but tell a solution, like you would have if your best friend was stressed out. Be a shrink for your brain and see how self-assurance, affirmations and polite self-talks will help you release your stress.
4. ‘Emotion is Motion’- Tony Robbins
I absolutely love this quote by the amazing life coach, and if you dig deep it is true. A little bit of silly dance will instantly boost your mood up rather than wasting 2 hours straight scrolling through your social media. Ditch those pajamas, get into the fanciest gear workout clothes you have and set out to the socially distanced run. If you live in a crowded city, turn up that volume and twerk around your house. A little of motion will instantly set you in a lighter mood. You would want to text your friends, check on your neighbor and finally get down to doing your happy to-do list.
5. The 10-Minute rule
Stress and worries can instantly kill motivation, which is completely normal and expected given how we all are suffering through the hands of this pandemic. However the point here is to create discipline, kick away those worries and commit yourself to keep going strong! That is why you need the 10-minute rule. The takeaway here is to force yourself to indulge yourself into an activity you have been postponing out of lack of motivation. Keep going for 10 minutes ONLY! Next thing you know you feel your energy coming back to you on the 11h minute, then 12th minute, then 20th minute and whoops! You’ve successfully done your pending task!
6. Practice Gratitude
We live in a fast paced world where everything is available on finger tips, which is why taking our blessings for granted is very common. This is the perfect time for you to reflect back on all the things, achievements, relations, experiences and luxuries you are thankful for. Even if it seems like the hardest thing to do, try doing it. There are many ways you can do that. Write down 3 things you are thankful for each day in your journal. Or send an appreciation card or text to one of your loved one. Your mind will shift from feeling sorry for yourself to actually acknowledging your power of positive energy.
Doing these things will also help you in your long term goals, even after the pandemic ends. Till then make sure you are feeding all the positive energy to your mind and soul.