Taking Care of Your Mental Health
During times of uncertainty, it’s natural to feel a sense of panic, frustration, sadness or anxiety, and different people express these feelings differently. We can, however, not let certain difficult situations or experiences consume us but guide us to our highest self. As mindfulness teacher Kaira Jewel mentions in this article, “the external situation may not change, but we can change the relationship to our external situation.”
If you’re a parent or caretaker, being able to cope with stress will make you and the people around you stronger. CDC provides general guidelines on how to cope and what to look out for in your loved ones.
Try mindfulness activities
To alleviate our stress levels, it’s key to engage in relaxing hobbies that you love, and connect and express ourselves with friends and family. Employing relaxing activities such as drawing, listening to music, Meditation, Yoga or Pranayama helps us cope better with difficult emotions. Arttherapy.lk is offering online experiential art therapies to de-stress. You can also watch documentaries on our YouTube channel to engage yourself during this period.
Journaling and writing down our thoughts could prove to be a great way to release any pent up anxieties that are burdening our overall health. Alain de Botton from The School of Life explains how you can benefit from this practice:
Unplug from news and social media
It’s important to understand the status of the pandemic, however, too much information gathering could have the unintended effect of driving up fear and anxiety. While you unplug from the news for a while, try mindfulness apps such as Headspace or 10% Happier to help you let go. We highly recommend Sam Harris’ Waking Up app if you’d like to go deeper.
Move your body
The mind and body has a reciprocal relationship – by releasing bodily tension through gentle expressive movement, you can also bring calm and ease to the mind and vice versa. Exercise is also known to reduce levels of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, and increases levels of endorphins – natural painkillers and mood elevators in our bodies. We share more insights via the article titled “How Exercise Affects Immunity.“
Use self-help tools such as EFT
Tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), is a powerful holistic healing technique that has been proven to effectively resolve a range of issues, including stress, anxiety, phobias, emotional disorders, chronic pain, weight control, and limiting beliefs – just to name a few. You can download an app to learn more: The Tapping Solution (EFT): How To Get Started
Consume nourishing foods
Stressful times may make some of us binge eat, crave sugary sweets or reach out to unhealthy fast foods, yet this is the exact time we need to have foods high in nutrient density. Read our article titled “Food for Thought & Immunity” and watch this video:
Seek outside help
If you are unable to mobilize these efforts and encounter difficult feelings or panic, there are many local organizations and volunteer services that are willing to assist you:
Crisis Support Service (1333)
Sumithrayo (011 269 6666)
National Mental Health Line (1926)
Shanthi Maargam (071 763 9898)
If you prefer talking to an anonymous AI bot, try downloading Woebot or Replika. These bots can be a friend in need when there is no one available to talk to you.
There are many online depression support groups and chat rooms you could reach out to as well:
http://blahtherapy.com/
http://www.healthfulchat.org/depression-chat-room.html/
http://www.7cupsoftea.com/
http://www.thehopeline.com/
Nilushka and Nivendra also shares some great tips on taking care of oneself in this video:
Further reading:
11 tips for managing your anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic
Coronavirus Anxiety: Coping with Stress, Fear, and Uncertainty
Got questions on how we can support your health and wellness goals? Call Workout.lk via 077 733 7430 for free recommendations and we will direct you to the best professionals. You can also read our blog post titled Boosting Your Immunity During an Outbreak or Food for Thought & Immunity to learn more about activities that help take care of yourself better during this time.
Make sure to follow our Facebook page or Instagram as we are organizing many online virtual webinars during this period such as this…
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