Imagine everything in your life is going great and completely normal as it should be. Your job, family, relationship, everything is sailing smooth, and suddenly there’s a change. Changes are rarely welcoming, so your stress levels increase a bit. You have been told to live away from most of your relationships for a while, the stress levels increase a little more. Then you are said to be in a confined space with no further information for how long, putting a full stop on the ordinary course of your life. There’s a big chance for your anxiety issues to go rooftop high.
According to healthline.com, anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress. Since it is a natural response, feeling a little anxious is completely normal. It occurs when there’s a sudden change in your life or where the’ fear of unknown’ comes in. But having a feeling of ‘fear’ all the time followed by questions running in your mind like, what will happen next, what if this happens, what if I am unable to, etc. can be bad, even dangerous for your health.
Mental health is a topic that was widely disregarded at first, and people thought of it as a sham. But as we progressed as modern individuals, stress became our second wife. And with the world locked down as we undergo a global pandemic, this has become a very hard thing to avoid. As we know excess of anything is bad for us, the situation we are currently in has the potential of taking our stress levels to the peak. So we will be facing substantial anxiety issues.
Now the problem at hand is, can we take care of it?
The answer to this would be yes. Modern science has undergone some remarkable revolution in the past few years, and we are able to build effective medicine. But that is not a path we will suggest for you to go because that is recommended only in extreme cases. For ordinary people with a little increase in the anxiety levels could be easily reduced by performing some of the measures. These measures will help you to cope up with anxiety issues and will also improve your overall health.
Stay away from the news:
Social media, the television, the daily newspaper, our chat buddies and whatnot. We are surrounded by media and negativity all around. Being updated about the world is not harmful, but being in constant contact with negative news and updates can create panic and induce anxiety issues. We recommend checking the news for about 25-30 minutes a day.
Be close to your family:
Loneliness is a disease and in this pandemic with all the negativity around, having someone to express yourself to is highly recommended. Being connected with your parents and family is the best option. Sometimes, we can be disconnected from our family even after being in the same house. This is a hard time for you all, even your parents can use some friendly ears. Sit with them and try to connect. We understand that you are not used to sharing the same roof with your family for such a long period of time and it can cause some rifts, but one thing you have to keep in mind is blood is thicker than water. When the hardest times are upon you, it’s the family that steps up, and it is a hard time for all of us, so stick around them. It’s easier than you think.
Have someone to talk to:
Along with your family, Keep in touch with your buddies, even the ones who don’t have a chat record with you longer than 3-4 messages. Take a break, call them, and ask how they were doing. It will be good for you to talk to someone you haven’t had a talk in a long time and also for the other person. You don’t know who is going through what. And with internet hosting 90 percent of the contact you can never know what’s going on behind those laughter emojis. So, pick up the phone and start dialing.
A meditation session a day keeps the anxiety issues away:
Meditation is known to rejuvenate your connection with the higher self and cleanse your soul. But sticking to our topic will help you get rid of your stress and calm your mind. Put on some mindful music, put on a comfortable posture, close your eyes and calm yourselves. Trust us, there’s nothing more soothing than oxygen-packed fresh air entering your body and soothing your entire self.
A routine:
A great routine is something that will not only help you fight the anxiety issues but keep your overall health up and running. Eating and sleeping well can never go out of fashion. Straighten out your eating habits and cut down on the sleepless nights. They are neither good in the lockdown nor regular days.
Read: Healthy lifestyle habits to follow in lockdown
Pick up a hobby:
You have all the time in the world, put it to better use. Putting in some activity will help you lay off from the overthinking, which gives rise to anxiety issues. Take out the paintbrush that’s been resting in your storeroom, eating dust for months now or that book in your bookshelf that is in the same state as the brush. Explore yourself, do what you feel like, just keep yourself from lying around with a pack of burritos and thousands of thoughts. That never serves any good.
Final Word
Not taking care of your mental health and outright ignoring it can lead to more intense things like prolonged anxiety issues and depression. And depression is something you wouldn’t want to deal with, it can lead either way. We hear daily about people taking their life as they couldn’t take more mental load. One such scenario happened very recently with the beloved actor Sushant Singh Rajput who took his own life and was suffering from depression for about half a year now.
Accept the importance of mental health and start working on it before it’s a little too late.