After the COVID- 19 was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, almost 80 percent of the nations around the world had to undergo lockdown forcing everyone to quarantine themselves including the ones unaffected by the virus. Amidst this chaos going on around the world, people are struggling on an individual level to cope up with the negative feelings of anxiety, isolation, fear, and panic. It is crucial that we take sound measures to take care of our mental and physical health. Here some of the ways in which you can engage yourself and remain stress-free during COVID-19 lockdown –
- Confining yourself to minimum News coverage
Television and social media platforms are being constantly flooded with COVID-19 updates these days. It can be quite overwhelming to listen, grasp and analyze so much going on in different parts of the world. While knowing about the whereabouts of the world syncs you with the latest updates, it can sometimes become the primary source of anxiety generation. Limiting yourself to just themandatoryamount of news coverage can help in drastically reducing the anxiety and panic level.
- Indulging in self-care
How many times have you thought of joining those yoga classes and never found the time? Well, this is the right time for you then. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of you were just busy with hectic schedules and enormous workloads. This time in isolation can prove to be a blessing in disguise for some of you who barelyget time. You can take up any form of self-care activity to make yourself feel healthier and stressful. This could range anything from yoga, meditation, workout or just a healthy eating habit.
- Engaging in a lost hobby
Maximum feelings of anxiety and stress are due to the lack of any mental or physical activity. While a lack of physical activity can have drastic effects on the way we look, lack of mental activity can lead to feelings of loneliness and depression. Engaging in some form of hobby, passion, work or activity will keep the mind occupied and remove all the negative thoughts from it. This way, you can also develop a new skill or pursue something which you always wanted to but never had the time to accomplish.
- De-cluttering your house
Clutter and messiness in our surroundings and mind can lead to stress, anxiety and lack of direction. Decluttering always helps in getting a clear picture of the house as well as brings clarity to the mind. This could be a long-forgotten opportunity to declutter and revamp your house that you might have wished to do at one point in life. It can help you in the future too as you would be having minimum things around the house to clean, organize and stress about.
- Talking to a professional
With the COVID-19 progressing through various stages in different parts of the world, mental health experts are always on the lookout to help the ones affected with high levels of stress and anxiety. It is a myth that counseling for mental health cannot be taken when the symptoms are hardly seen. Mental health is as crucial as physical health and hence should always be prioritized. Taking up free online counseling or talking to some professional can be a good way of understanding your feelings and getting a hold over them.
While everyone can have their own custom ways of dealing with stress and anxiety, it is important to focus on the positive aspects of life at this point as we move ahead in time.