Yes! We are all staying at home now to fight this global pandemic COVID-19. We know we are quarantined and isolating ourselves to avoid contact with each other to prevent its rapid spreading. So isolating physically is necessary and mandatory. But what about mentally distancing? It can be horrible, right?
As social animals, it is difficult for us to not interact with our loved ones. It can lead us to anxiety and in the worst case it can lead to depression. Hence, this same social distancing precaution may reflect as a cause of mental health problems. Everyone’s mental strength is different from others. While some people are strong enough to accept the situation and will try to keep their life the same as pre-quarantine days, others can’t cope with the loneliness they feel during this quarantine.
In this write-up, let’s discuss how we can keep our minds healthy and peaceful during these isolating days.
First, let’s begin with sunrise.
Rise and Shine!
Well, every morning is a new start, right? Wake up at your usual time, do some exercises from your yard, terrace or even from your room. Or simply walk around and enjoy the morning bliss and get kissed from the sun! It will work.
Then get back to your same routine as before such as cooking, and get ready for your work, if you are working from home. Make your day more peaceful rather than thinking too much about the pandemic or any other negative thinking.
One more thing, don’t jump on to the newspaper or the news to see the global pandemic condition as the first thing you do in the morning. Just focus your mind on yourself, your loved ones and your home. If we start the day with positivity, it will reflect on the whole day. So just rise and shine in the morning!
Work Out Work From Home
The majority of us have switched our workspace to home as we can’t compromise on our professional life. After the morning routines, we will get into our small workspace at home. Find a space with fewer distractions and proper lighting as this will help in concentration and will be suitable for frequent online meetings and video conferences.
Don’t get stressed that as you are not working from the office, you can’t cooperate with other team members and may get stuck on doubts especially if you are a new joiner to the company. Maximum utilize the technologies to get connected and keep in touch with your colleagues to reduce stress and anxiety while remote working.
Take proper breaks during work, drink plenty of water, stand up from your chair, walk, take a small nap, chit chat with colleagues and think that nothing has changed even if you are not sitting in your cubicle. Yes, we will be back in our office after some days and we will get back to our usual life.
Keep In Touch!
It is a simple word, but it means a lot in this social distancing time! We can’t hang out with our friends, go for a movie or window shopping. We have already accepted it! But we can’t live without socializing. As we are blessed to live in a technologically advanced era, we can use social media and different apps to get connected with our loved ones. Do calls, video calls and send messages to your friends and family when you miss them or have a feeling that you are really isolated!
Spend quality time with your family as this is the time we all are together. Talk, laugh, play games and cook together with your family!
If you are stuck in some other place alone, away from your family, don’t think that you are alone. Go to the balcony and say hello to your neighbor. It will help you as well as them to get rid of the anxiety of isolation.
Exercise Your Mind
Mental health and physical health are connected to each other. Utilize this time to learn new things, set up a small garden, draw pictures, spend time with your kids and meditate your mind. There are many online classes open during these days. Use them and learn something new. Do your yoga and exercises as usual at the same time as pre-quarantine. Have your meals on time as usual and take care of yourself.
Think about the internal things and how you can make this time more peaceful and mentally fit without having a feeling that you are trapped in a room. Especially for extroverts, it will be a bit difficult to stay at home. But just use the available technological resources to keep yourself engaged, read books, watch series on Netflix, enroll in some online courses and relax your mind. Start new habits!
Keep in mind that we are all going through the same situation. So try and stay positive to make the people around us happy as well. Support your friends who need mental support and interact with each other. Be healthy and keep your home clean. As we all know, cleaning helps us release stress! Do something different and switch this time into learning and self-caring time.
So stay mentally & physically healthy. Let us overcome this exceptional time together!
Good work Pallavi. Keep going.
Thank you