The world is in chaos. There have been a lot of lives that were lost and are currently at stake. Cities are deserted, business are closed, people are being quarantined, and government funds are gradually diminishing. The present health crisis has filled each person’s plate with worries, anxieties, and fears. Plenty of nations in various continents in the globe have been affected by the novel coronavirus disease and are presently struggling for their people and economy to survive.
As the health crisis began to escalate, terrible news also emerged. The optimistic mindset of people are slowly being consumed by negativity for the updates from different media networks are all about the COVID-19 outbreak, new cases, increasing mortality, and more. In both print and digital platforms, saddening articles are being disseminated. There are nothing wrong about that for it is one way to make people informed about the current situation that they are experiencing. However, there are others that cannot take all the awful information and, as a result, are going through a lot of stress.
Mental health is also important like physical health. In this trying times where everyone’s is at stake, do not forget to also take good care of your mental health for it can affect a lot of things, such as your mindset, perspectives, and more. That said, to conquer stress in the middle of this health crisis, here are some tips that you should check out:
Avoid the Stressors
One of the main method to prevent yourself from being stressed is to avoid your stressors. There are four types of stress according to Albrecht, which are the time stress, situational stress, anticipatory stress, and encounter stress. Moreover, these things that make you frustrated can be the little ones, such as the noise, the presence of someone you like less, the amount of chores you need to accomplish, and more. On the other hand, it can also be the major things, like death, loss, containment, abuse, too much work, etc. You can evaluate your daily routine or keep journals so you can trace and pinpoint the events or things that make you frustrated and, from that, you can start to avoid them and make your days better.
Don’t Spend too much Time on Social Media
Social media is a messy place as of the moment. The diversity of each social media platform suddenly disappeared due to the novel coronavirus disease. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more have turned out to be news outlets that distributes daily updates about the transmission, development, and cases of COVID-19. Instead of laughing about the memes that you happened to stumble upon these platforms, you end up having an anxiety attack or a heavy heart because of the terrible articles, headlines, and news updates about COVID-19. That said, divide your time properly or fully break free from social media so that you can breathe and go on with your daily routine without too much worries.
Divert Your Attention
The attention you spend on browsing the internet and watching the news can be diverted to other things that can make your day more productive. Getting news updates, however, is not being discourage it is just that be reminded not to constantly check news from various sources in order not to get overwhelmed by the rising cases and death due to COVID-19. That said, begin looking for activities that can exercise both your mind and body. You can do indoor sports, stream movies, watch TV shows, dance to your favorite music, sing a song or two, bake cupcakes, and more. These activities can make you busy, occupy your mind, and draw you away from all the negativities.
Connect With your Friends and Family
This is the best time to reconnect with your family, friends and other loved ones. Almost everyone is stuck on their home along with their families. Thus, being on quarantine is not a horrible things now, isn’t it? You can make the most of this situation by doing things that your family used to do or enjoy doing, like watching TV together, playing video games, cooking meals, praying to God, and even eating together. Communicating with friends through chat, text messages, video call, or phone call can also be done. You still can make your peers feel that all of you are in this tough times together even though you cannot hang out physically. Thus, quarantine is not a bad thing after all for it gives the chance to connect and communicate with the people that are close to your heart.
Make Time for Yourself
You have all the time to be productive, bond with your loved ones, and enjoy the little things in life during this quarantine period. One thing that you should not forget to do this time is to take care of yourself. Do not put too much pressure on being a good family or society member, keep the tension out by knowing that you are enough and all that you do is slowly making a difference in the community — like staying at home. You can pamper yourself by doing your skin care routine, working out, or hearing self-development podcasts. Moreover, you can also read some self-help books to help you lessen the stress. There are various self-development books in the corner of literature that will definitely aid you to solve the land mines of life and become a better person.
The Happy Hammock 