Managing anxiety and stress: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic | Zyla Health
Flashback to 5–15 years ago, I remember the stigma around managing anxiety and stress strongly existing in our societies. Earlier the importance of mental health was not being addressed properly and no one was taking mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety seriously.
But gradually with the entry of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have started to gain consciousness about what were the mental health issues they once faced or are still facing.
Stress and anxiety are experienced by everyone, be it work stress, personal stress or any other stress. Earlier we didn’t have any idea how to cope with this. But the pandemic has taught us to wait for a minute and think about how healthy we are!
Yes, we need to think if we are healthy or not. Because according to the World Health Organization, “ Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Between these different waves of COVID-19, the whole world stopped and many people and corporations understood the importance of wellness, thus people started with extra activities and corporates started with workplace wellness programs that would help to improve physical health as well as mental health.
Here is how we can reduce stress and anxiety during hard times, lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic:
1. What’s the news? No news!
The whole COVID-19 scenario was new for everyone and so was the curiosity to learn about the ongoings. Sitting at home, everyone was watching the news every day to know the stats of the affected ratio.
But what happened, many people started panicking about the situation and were getting stressed and anxious. So what I did is, I made sure that we cut down on the news time.
News was only seen for knowing the status of utility purposes. Rest we watched movies and some good old television shows that we missed for years and got the opportunity to see all that because of this pandemic.
Just like that, when you recognise the root cause, managing anxiety and stress can be done by cutting down or dealing with the root cause immediately and feeling better gradually.
If you feel like talking to a mental health expert and coping with stress, then don’t be afraid! I would suggest you download the Zyla app or visit our website-zyla.in. We can help you improve your overall well-being by providing personalised care!
2. Stick to routine
When the whole world was shut because of the pandemic, initially, everyone was happy, but now all will do is take action lazily or procrastinate. Also, when the COVID-19 situation got worse, everyone was devastated and thought about how long things have to be like this!
Before the pandemic, everyone at some or the other point in time had wished that they stayed at home but the same became a curse as soon as lockdown felt like a house arrest.
However, this unfortunate time taught us how important it is to maintain a schedule for our own good.
According to Dr Maxwell Maltz, it takes us 21 days to grab and get used to something new, be it a habit. This was a golden opportunity where we inculcated those small habits, which we were not having earlier and did them regularly. For eg cleaning, organizing, learning something new etc.
Overall, we learnt that following a routine is important to form a habit which makes us productive and efficient and makes us work on our health instead of procrastinating!
3. Family time
Before COVID-19, no one had time to spend quality time with their families. During the lockdown, we all got to do that. We talked about all those things which we had missed expressing at certain times in our lives.
We all got to play together, eat together and make the most out of the time. Not only was it fun but we eventually ended up creating precious memories.
This taught us that each member of the family needs all family members and these are the moments which make us cherish our lives and reduce any kind of mental tension we might be going through thus it helps in managing anxiety and stress.
4. Hobby
It is a general thing that children have curious minds. We are always ready to learn new things that interest us. But growing up and living with hectic schedules, we slowly miss taking some time out for our hobbies.
Because of this lockdown, we got to look back and start with our hobbies which diverted our minds from negativity to positivity. Thus, we learnt that engaging in things that interest us is good for managing anxiety and stress.
Multiple studies have also shown that involvement in hobbies improves low mood, happiness quotient and mental health.
5. Gratitude
Initially, in our normal routine, we were focusing more on what we don’t have, and it seemed as if everyone carried a list of it. But this critical time gave us an opportunity to express our gratitude for what we actually have with us.
This also made us realize that most things that we wish for are temporary and that nothing is more important than having our families and friends who are around us even in our hard times.
Thus, being thankful can enlighten a positive feeling within us and can help in managing anxiety and stress.
6. Learn and explore
Because of COVID-19, we got the chance to upgrade our knowledge or pursue something which we wanted to but were not having adequate time for… Many people learnt cooking, painting, writing etc while some pursued courses that would help them professionally.
Doing what we want to do and growing personally makes us more confident and proud of ourselves! This helps boost our morale, quality of life and thus calms our minds.
Being healthy and disease-free also helps in improving the quality of life! If you are diagnosed with any chronic disease, I would suggest you download the Zyla app or visit our website-zyla.in. We can help you improve your overall health by providing 24*7 personalised care!
7. Connect with friends and distant family
One of the most blessed parts of this COVID-19 time was that we got a good whole lot of quality time to spend with our families. After doing all the household chores we had a lot of time on our watch to spend with each other.
People managed to do various activities with their families such as watching movies, playing ludo, cherishing old photographs, and enjoying some good food.
Let me tell you my experience, we played housie with the whole family like all cousins, we had made a family group on messenger and tickets were already sent to each member beforehand. In these tough times, technology helped us to stay connected with everyone.
We even managed to video call our friends whom we were not able to connect with since ages.
It was hard for everyone to be mentally sound during those situations but with a dark side, we also have a brighter side to look back to. Connecting with distant relations really helped us all be mentally stable and reduce stress and anxiety!
Above all this, the pandemic made us think about our existence. What are we here for? What have we done with our lives? What do we yet wish to do with the given opportunity? What is it that we truly cherish?
Personally, I was able to manage my stress and anxiety by following all the 7 lessons mentioned above. And that’s why I am using my learnings and experiences to help you in managing anxiety and stress.
Mental health was a less addressed issue before COVID-19 at least in India. But now everyone knows about all mental health disorders. Commendable work has been done by several NGOs who did various awareness programs and provided free consultations for mental health therapy.
All healthcare workers were working hard to save the lives of thousands by staying away from their own families. The trauma, which they have faced is also hard. As we know PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) is also a concern for such professions. But they have managed to do a wonderful job during those hard times.
Here are the last few things which we need to follow to eternity for managing anxiety and stress:
- Let’s help everyone who you feel is going through some mental health issue.
- Let’s spend quality time with our loved ones by taking out some time from our busy schedules.
- Let’s nurture our children to connect with themselves and their families.
- Let’s contribute towards a healthier generation by planting more trees, taking more sunlight, eating a balanced diet and exercising daily.
Do say this affirmation every day:
“Every day in every way I am getting better and better.
I am strong, wise and healthy. I create my own happiness.
My challenges are my opportunities.”
Till then stay healthy and happy. In case, you are looking for someone who could help you manage your mental health, I would suggest you download the Zyla app or visit our website-zyla.in.
Zyla has a team of experts like doctors, psychologists, nutritionists etc. who can help you improve your overall health by providing holistic and personalised care!
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