Quarantine, social distancing, COVID-19, red zones, lockdown: all these words are being spoken of instead of summer holidays, travelling and living your life the way you expected when 2020 started. The COVID-19 pandemic has already gained its place on the dark side of world history for a variety of reasons. Unemployment, the migrant crisis, exams being cancelled or postponed. The aviation sector has been hit the hardest.
But instead of being anxious and antsy about it, use this time productively and efficiently. When you are productive and align your priorities you can be much more efficient. It could decrease your cortisol levels (stress hormone) and you could be at peace. During this lockdown, your priority should be to take care of you and your family’s well-being.
Being physically fit is not enough. You need to pay attention to your mental health. Being peaceful internally during this hiatus is essential. The pandemic is full of ambiguity and, hence, you should be ready to face the future. Not a lot of people pay attention to what is inside them thinking they are good at repressing emotions or know how to handle them. This quarantine has led people to realise the time they devoted to their mental health and peacefulness in the past was not enough.
During this quarantine people should do something for their mental health. This can be done by either talking with your family and friends or activities such as physical exercises, meditation, yoga, reading a book, listening to a podcast, sketching, etc. This quarantine is all about you being at peace as the future seems ambiguous and uncertain.
Stress can be caused by multiple reasons such as your job, household or relationship problems, etc. But we can all overcome it by becoming more mindful about what we eat, how we react to certain situations and what our core values are. If you are at peace with yourself you will not be affected by these uncertain times. Restrain yourself from being anxious and try to make the most of this situation.
Checking the news only once in a day, prioritising your work and taking out time for your hobbies; all these should be done irrespective of you being in quarantine. And most importantly, the way ahead is by “being alert, not anxious”.