Stressed due to COVID 19 lockdown? - Keep yourself away from stress

“Understand your stress and then deal with it”

Here we all are facing an unexpected situation; we have never imagined that we are going to locked down in our houses and are not allowed to cross the LAKSHAMN REKHA of our doorstep to save our lives. This is an obvious situation to feel stress and anxiety due to the fear about the disease. Also, when we are confined to one place only and not going out to entertain ourselves, we are getting more frustrated due to the same routine and least of exposure and majorly due to the uncertainty of the future circumstances over this situation.

Due to this overwhelming situation, you might be getting stressed, but to cope with that stress you must understand it in detail to deal effectively. Monitor certain symptoms to diagnose stress:

•    Excess of worry even with little or irrelevant symptoms of disease.
•    State of Hypochondriasis (symptoms of some disease, when it actually does not exist)
•    Change in appetite (overeating or loss of appetite) or binge eating
•    Changes in the sleep pattern
•    Mood fluctuations
•    Excessive intake of alcohol or smoke

How to take care of yourself and your family to stay stress free:

TAKE 6-8 HOURS GOOD SLEEP- The most important factors are SLEEP to maintain the balance of our body, sleep reenergize the brain and body. So, sleep is the most important feed for the body to stay stress free. Do not sleep late or wake up late, this will disturb the body rhythm and make you feel tired all day.

DO ROUTINE EXERCISE OR YOGA- As we are restricted to our homes, so try to do some light exercises and yoga at home to maintain blood and oxygen circulation of your body. Deep breathing is the best and lightest exercise you can do at home.

EAT PROPER AND HEALTHY DIET- You might have already heard that “Healthy mind lies in Healthy body”. Due to the situation of COVID 19 good immunity is important to fight with disease and healthy food gives strength to our body to deal with the routine pressures. Eat health but limited amount of food to maintain body energy and do not forget to drink lots of water.

MAKE A ROUTINE FOR THE DAY- A proper timetable can help you to maintain balance throughout the day. Fix your working hours and do not drag your work for the full day, otherwise your brain will be occupied with work thoughts all day and this will make you feel tired and over worked.

LIMIT YOUR SCREEN TIME- Do not watch TV or use Mobile or Laptop all day. Restrict yourself from overuse of gadgets for the sake of your eyes and brain health.

SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY AND KIDS- Listen to your family members, talk to them and play with kids at home to entertain yourself and to break the monotony.
EXPLORE YOUR TALENT AND HOBBIES- This is the best time to explore your talent and to enjoy your hobbies. Take out some self time and work to strengthen your strengths.

STAY CONNECTED THROGH VITUTAL COMMUNICATION- Stay in touch with your friends and relatives through call, video chats of messages to feel connected. This way you can also feel loved by others.

ATTITUDE- Your attitude plays the most important role in dealing with any situation, positive attitude leads to divergent thinking and an easy solution. Develop interest in yourself and remember that you are responsible for yourself and no one else.

MANAGING STRATEGIES- So even after doing everything you still feel stress and than you got to work to manage it by understanding its cause, segregate the stressor into small parts and work on the solution part. Try to achieve solution one by one and never be in hurry to resolve the issue. Before working on any solution first take a deep breath because a relaxed mind can think more wisely.

Just understand that everyone is going through same situation and together we can, and we will come out of this trouble.

Remember:

STAYING HEALTHY IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, NOT YOUR CHOICE

Stay home, stay safe

- Priyanka Verma,

 Assistant Prof. - Psychology,
 Amity University Gurugram