How to Manage Your Mental Health During COVID 19

Are you having anxiety attacks & feeling depressed? It’s extremely important to manage your mental health during COVID 19 lockdown.

It’s been more than a year that the world is waging a war against the Coronavirus and the second wave seems to be hitting us harder than the first one.

I’m sure that none of us ever thought that things will come to this point where we will have to abide by the rules of social distancing & embrace the quarantined life for the sake of saving humankind from this pandemic situation.

Capsized travel plans, indefinite isolation, panic over scarce resources & the need to stock essentials, political agendas prioritized over vaccination concerns, information overload on social media & worrying about ‘when will this come to an end’ could be a recipe for unchecked anxiety leading to chronic depression.

Thus, it is really necessary that along with our efforts to combat the pandemic, we must acknowledge and manage our mental health, focusing on the brighter side of things, during this adverse time period.

Here are some simple ways that’ll help you manage your mental health during COVID 19:

Ways To Maintain Your Mental Health During COVID-19

1. Stop overfeeding yourself with the news.

One thing that I’ve come to realize in the last couple of weeks is that there’s too much news in the air, and after a certain point, it can be more upsetting than informational.

I would be waking up to messages on WhatsApp mentioning the death rates or new cases in cities across the world.

All the news channels will keep repeating the same things – throughout the day! Thus, it’s really important for us to make sure that the information we are getting is really necessary or not?

To keep yourself sane, it’s important to evaluate how much is helpful for you to read in a day, and aim to stick to that limit.

It can be really upsetting to hear about the crisis and see images repeatedly. If you think there’s free time, maybe you can read something mindful or let loose & binge-watch a series on Netflix – better than overfeeding yourself with the COVID information!

2. Take care of your body.

A healthy mind resides in a healthy body – and while we’re all staying indoors these days, it’s essential that we take care of our body in the most beautiful manner.

It’ll be good if you can follow a daily routine that’ll help you to maintain a balance between your body & mind. Wake up to practice meditation & do some breathing exercises. Do some stretching or yoga before having a healthy breakfast.

In case you’re working from home, make sure to take regular intervals to move your body, avoid consuming too much coffee or tea. Since there’s not much action involved, balancing your carbs & protein intake is necessary.

Try to limit your alcohol consumption as much as possible. Make sure you get adequate sleep – there can be nothing more peaceful than giving your mind & body the rest it deserves. 

3. Clean up. A chaotic home can lead to a chaotic mind!

As we are all staying at home, there might be times when you feel lethargic and don’t wanna make the bed or clean the dishes after a meal – but let me be honest, our surroundings have a deeper impact in our mind than we can ever realize.

Thus, it is extremely important that we keep our home clean and organized. Set up your work desk so that it gives you adequate motivation & helps you to concentrate; try not to eat in bed or on the sofa; keep your windows open to let in some sunshine & fresh air; water the plants ‘coz adding some greenery to your sight will surely have a soothing effect on your mind.

Clean up the dust that’s gathering on the table, set up your cupboard & sort your clothes, even though you’re not using most of them now, don’t let the dishes get piled up on the sink.

Remember, a cluttered home can make us feel uneasy & claustrophobic. In order to keep ourselves sane, it’s important to clear the chaos & keep things tidy!

4. Stay connected with your loved ones.

It’s true that the need of the hour is to maintain social distancing but that doesn’t mean you can’t be in touch with your loved ones.

In this era when technology has quite literally intervened in our lives in the most unique ways. You can fix a date with your partner over Skype or FaceTime with your family whenever you feel like it.

It’s time that you use your creativity to connect with your friends & family, maybe ask your mom for a recipe and share your cooking experience with her. 

I & my friends have been playing Pictionary almost every day, sitting at our respective homes. 

At times when you feel low, reach out to a friend and talk about what’s bothering you – sometimes expressing our loneliness that comes with isolation dissolves when vented out. The pandemic isn’t the end of the social world if you make the effort to reach out and explore other means of communication & expression.

5. Put In Some Conscious Efforts To Drop Your Worries.

Making slight changes in our thoughts can help us to worry less. Rather than thinking ‘I’m stuck at home’, how about looking at it like ‘I’m home & have all the time in the world for myself’. Makes a difference, right?

Well yeah, often we feel depressed because of the way we perceive things and even the slightest change in the way we look at things can eventually make a big impact. Grab a notebook and write down all your fears until your anxieties have dropped by half.

Make a list of the good things that are happening to you, while you stay at home and focus on yourself as you’ve never done before.

Think of all those things that you’ve always wanted to do – maybe learning how to doodle or starting a blog, trying your hands in cooking, or reading some motivational books that you always wanted to read.

This is the time to indulge in doing all those amazing things that you’ve been missing out amidst the hustle and bustle of your otherwise busy life.

This isn’t the time to fuel your anxieties, but rather to slow down, see your roots & focus on how you can bloom in the most beautiful ways. 

Amidst all of these, how about looking at the brighter side of things? Over the last 3 weeks, while I’ve also had my fair share of lows, there are a lot of things that I learned from Social Distancing due to the lockdown!

As they say, ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’. The fear of Corona Virus has enveloped every part of the world, spreading its aura of terror & creeping into our mind leading to anxiety.

But all we can do now is wait for the clouds to clear and the bright yellow sun rays to touch our lives. In this case, there is a lot of positivity around us, despite the panic and loss through COVID-19.

From dolphins swimming across waters, people coming together to sing, families spending quality time together at the comfort of their homes and nature recuperating from the clutches of pollution.

Needless to say, our beautiful Earth is repairing, & so will we. Try following the simple steps mentioned above and make sure not to ignore your anxieties, rather talk about it with someone whom you can trust. 

Are you also suffering from some sort of anxiety issues and would like to share how you’re dealing with it? The pandemic won’t last forever. So it’s actually not worth to let that disturb our mental wellbeing.

For now, Stay Home, Stay Safe & Stay Happy!