How to stay mentally fit during COVID?

Since the onset of the pandemic, we all have had the fear of getting infected by Novel Coronavirus which is the prime reason of mental instability in many. Upon seeing the daily updates in Television, News Apps or whether it be the social platforms like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter of different statistics of Covid affect in regions, unconsciously we all have these thoughts in the back of our brain always. These thoughts are affecting us by causing Anxiety, Hypertension, Overthinking upon things which is highly troublesome if prolonged as these may, in worst scenarios, lead to problems related to fluctuating Blood Pressure, increased Norepinephrine and Epinephrine (Adrenaline) leads to increased heart rates.

In order to keep ones health in check and stay positive during pandemic, try adapting the following mantras!

MINIMISE NEWS TIME

Though it may seem weird to some, but staying distant from news will help in reducing your exposure to absorbing the same news over n over and reduce ones stress levels while reducing negativity around us. That doesn't mean to just cut off from the daily news, but reduce expose to Covid related news, devoting only few minutes a day to stay updated.

AVOID NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

We happen to depend a lot upon things like messages being circulated on Whatsapp, or posts being passed on through Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, which is most of the time not validated and leads to creation of unwanted rumors leading to false knowledge of things. Many such cases have been seen during this pandemic too, with messages taking false claims are being passed upon. So we need to avoid them and rely only upon trusted sources of information like government websites, WHO, UNICEF, ICMR and so on for our only source of knowledge.

SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY

Although Covid has brought around many difficulties, it has also provided us an opportunity to spend time with our loved ones, discuss things with them which is most fruitful and can be seen as a silver lining in the dark clouds. Play games with your children, tell them about different experiences from your past, organize sessions of video calls with friends and family, plan meals over video calls with your loved ones, engage into interactive sessions at work.

DEDICATE TIME UPON SELF

Many of us have been ignoring the most important thing of our lives, instead being caught up in either work or enjoying together, that is SELF CARE! Self care doesn't only covers our physical appearance but also our mental health. We are so busy in our lives that we happen to give up on time that we should give to ourselves. This pandemic is a reminder for us to understand the meaning of life and prioritize things accordingly, so lets start by devoting more time in these things:

1. Meditate: If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace. The benefits of meditation can include:

   1. Gaining a new perspective on life

   2. Managing stress levels

   3. Increasing patience and tolerance

   4. Increasing self-awareness

   5. Being more practical, focusing on the present

   6. Reducing negative vibes

   7. Increasing imagination and creativity

2. Yoga: Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages. And, if you’re going through an illness, recovering from surgery or living with a chronic condition, yoga can become an integral part of your treatment and potentially hasten healing.

   1. Yoga improves strength, balance and flexibility.

   2. Yoga helps with back pain relief.

   3. Yoga can ease arthritis symptoms.

   4. Yoga benefits heart health.

   5. Yoga relaxes you, to help you sleep better.

   6. Yoga can mean more energy and brighter moods.

3. Breathing exercises: Breathing exercises are a part of Yoga, but a very important element to through some light upon. Breathing exercises like those which come under Yoga and Proning exercise are proven to be a good way to maintain high oxygen flow within the body assuring proper functioning.

4. Read books rather than memes: Nowadays we are spending maximum time on Social media platforms engaging in things to kill time and sometime bring by a momentarily smile on our faces. Instead engage in something much more meaningful as listed above.

Hope adopting some above listed measures might help you resolve stress and bring by smiles to your face every morning!