Being stuck at home might be normal and completely alright with some individuals, but not for all. Due to the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire nation is under a lockdown, as there is no certainty as to when this all will get over. A lot of people are under a lot stress and anxiety. Specially because of the lack of basic necessities like food, water, medicines, essentials like cleaning and sanitizing supplies, and the biggest problem of all, money. Money to buy all those things that can help prevent the spread of the virus. As all the companies are under a lockdown as well, they have been facing a lot of loses which was not anticipated in the being of the spread of the virus, and due to the lack of work and agendas / tasks being able to be met with and completed, and to curb with the loses, the companies have started laying off a majority of their employees and have cut down the salaries of the remaining.
This is one of the biggest reasons for mental health illness for a majority of the population as they are under constant fear and worry about the present scenario as well as the future that lies ahead of them. There is not much that can be done about the current situation, but a lot can be done to cope up with, and prevent mental health illness. Starting with the basics, that may seem unnecessary and not helpful, but once you begin with it, it will all seem to fall back into its place on its own. The basics consist of waking up in the morning, not early like the normal work routine that most of us are used to, but on a convenient and comfortable time so that you are able to complete your sleep properly. Then the difficult part of waking up is getting out of bed and getting ready for the day, which is something no one wishes to do these days , mostly because they know they don’t have to step out of the house or meet anyone. But it is a great first step towards making yourself feel fresh and energized with positivity. This will help in looking forward towards the day with the will to do something different and productive rather than getting stressed all the time with the news and reports. The next step is to find your go-to or your comfort space, it could be anything that you enjoy doing and haven’t been able to do because of your busy college/work schedule. This will give a sense of motivation and aim for the day. It will also help in keeping your mind distracted from feeling any kind of fear, stress, anxiety or sadness. It won’t make it all go away, but it will certainly help in reducing it. Doing things such as cooking, painting, designing, reading, writing, learning new things, joining online courses, gardening etc., all of these activities are part of mindfulness, they require you to stay present in the now and some even require rapid judgements. It is a sort of behavioural activation. This will not only keep you busy, but will also give a sense of achievement that will make you happy. This will also keep you occupied and help in getting through with the day.
Along with these, one of the most important things to do is talk, talking to your family members, friends, co-workers, anyone you think would listen to you and understand what you’re going through. Communication is the key to every solution. Talking helps in letting out your emotions and it also helps in clearing your thoughts. It is not necessary to talk about your problems only, talking about your day, the things you’ve planned for ahead, talking about the past, everything that goes on in your mind, the good and the bad. Things that make you laugh, put a smile on your face and the other person’s too, when you make someone smile because of yourself, it makes you feel good about yourself, and it keeps you going. When you listen to yourself while talking, it gives you an understanding of what you’re saying and it makes you understand yourself better as well. This would in-turn help in relaxing your mind and body and help in sleeping well too. Relaxation is very important to attain in order to cope with mental health illness as well as physical distress.
Going out is not an option which is available, so get your exercise done indoors. Yoga is a good indoor option for every age group and it has proven to be highly beneficial for a lot of medical and psychological reasons too. Other forms of exercise would be stretching and relieving muscle tension, walking around in the house or the terrace if you have access to one, stair stepping, dancing, using water bottles as weights for lifting, following workout videos, etc. Exercising is important for keeping yourself healthy and fit. Doing it for a minimum of 30 minutes a day would be good enough for anybody. This also helps out in relieving stress and anxiety. A good way to keep yourself engaged would be to do with someone, if not in person, then on a video call. Having a partner encourages to exercise and it also makes you look forward to doing it next time.
In between all of these activities, it is very important to keep yourself hydrated and well fed. Eating good nutritious food is essential for maintaining energy and for doing all the activities of the day. Eating healthy is also important to prevent any sort of illness that will hamper your functioning. Not only eating, but also sleeping well is a very important component in coping with mental health illness. When your body does not get the adequate amount of rest required, it makes you lazy, and dizzy throughout the day and makes it all the more difficult for you to do anything productive. When you don’t have a fixed routine, your sleep cycle is the first thing that experiences change, you tend to sleep late and wake up late too. So, to change that cycle, the first thing to do is to start sleeping early, not too early, but early enough for you to wake up on your own in the morning without the help of any alarms. When you are able to do so, it would mean that you had a sufficient amount of sleep to function properly.
Starting with any of the above mentioned steps would help out in big ways and would also help maintain a routine for yourself, so that it does not get too difficult for you to adjust back into your normal work schedule. They will not only help in carrying a routine, but will contribute greatly in keeping your mind and body in check and in sync with each other.
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